The Scent of Magic
by Periwinkle Skittles
Summary: Hey, it's your favorite wolf mutant here, Zoey Colt! After that little incident with the Avengers last year, I was hoping to have a somewhat normal life. But nooo! I just have to wind up randomly in Asgard's prison, meet Loki, get chased by guards, and then a whole new adventure. Meanwhile, Madison is stuck on Earth freaking out. Help? SEQUEL TO 'I HOWLED AT THE MOON WITH FRIENDS'
1. Chapter 1

**Here it is, The Scent of Magic! The cover was done by Yours Truly (me) and the link to the pic on Deviantart is in my account. Hope you like it! **

**The title of this chapter is from Eminem 'Without Me'**

**I don't own Marvel (sadly)**

Chapter One

Guess who's back, back again?

"'_Cause when you're fifteen and somebody tells you they love you, you're gonna believe them!_" Madison yells passionately into the microphone, "_And when you're fifteen, feels like there's nothing to figure out!"_

Then, she and Darcy both sing/scream at the same time, _"Well, count to ten, take it in. This is life before you know who you're gonna be! Fifteen!"_

….Yeah, in case you haven't noticed, Madison and I are fifteen now. Well, at least we think _I_ am, since nobody knows when my real birthday is. So we came up with a fake birthday date for me, and it's the weekend after Madison's so we're not too far apart. Also, for the fact that we have two weekends full of partying.

But, honestly, I _hate _the song 'Fifteen' by Taylor Swift now. Madison has played/sung/screamed it so many times that I have to resist banging my head against the wall every time I hear it.

_"And you're feeling like flying. And your mamma's waiting up. And you're thinking he's the one."_ Madison and Darcy prance around the apartment, singing their hearts out to the Xbox. They're playing another one of those sing-along games where their avatars are dressed up like rockstars on a stage. Meanwhile, I'm watching them from the kitchen, shoving handfuls of bibble into my mouth.

And why am I eating British popcorn you ask?

Well, it's a long story actually.

See, Mom wanted to take Madison and I to Paris for some wine thing that we don't care about. It took three long days to finally convince us to go. Anyway, before we left, Darcy and I were texting and she told me that she was in London for some science thing Eric told her about. She invited us to stay at her apartment (I may or may not have invited myself) while Mom went to Paris. Thankfully, Mom agreed, and after dropping us off in London, she took a bullet train to Paris. Thank God, because I do _not _want to go there.

….It's not that I don't like Paris, it's just…. I don't like it.

I heard the people there could be really rude. Darcy only confirmed that, telling us about the one time she went to Paris and accidentally dropped her passport. The flight guy right in front of her didn't even move a muscle to pick it up, and you know what he did? He _scoffed _and rolled his eyes like some spoiled pig. Honestly, who does that?!

Not to mention the meals are _tiny _and cost, like, a million dollars. Okay, I may have exaggerated a _little _bit there, but you get the point.

I don't want to go to Paris.

_"Your very first day. You take a deep breath, girl. Take a deep breath as you walk through the doors."_

I let out a sigh of relief as Darcy and Madison finally finish singing the wretched song. The animated audience on the Xbox cheers loudly and the avatars bow. Suddenly, the doorbell rings, making an annoying 'ding dong'.

"Can you get that, Zoey?" Darcy asks, flopping down on the couch. I shake my head and reply bluntly, "Nope." I shove more bibble into my mouth, savoring its delicious taste. Dang, this stuff is good!

"Zoey." Madison gives me a look and I roll my eyes.

"Fiiiinnnee." I groan, heaving myself out of the backless counter chair. I trudge over to the door, dodging various scientific objects. Pausing in front of the handle, I mentally note that I'm only wearing a tank top and a pair of yoga pants before simply shrugging and opening the door.

I perk up at the familiar face and exclaim, "Ian! Long time, no see, huh?"

'Ian' stands in the hallway, looking confused.

"Uh," he stampers, "I don't believe we've met before…" Ahh, I love his British accent.

I gesture him to come in and say, "I'm Zoey Colt, remember? The one who hired you to work for Darcy?"

Ian raises his eyebrows in astonishment, "You? You're Zoey Colt?"

"Surprised?" I ask, leading him inside. I glance over my shoulder and he replies, "No, well, I… I thought you were older. Don't you have to be over eighteen to hire someone on that website?"

"Yup." I flop down on the couch next to the two girls. Darcy grins and says, "Welcome, intern! How're ya doin'?"

"My name is Ian." he says, but she just waves her hand, "Whatever. Your first job is to organize the science stuff over there." She gestures towards the messy jumbles of scientific equipment scattered around the apartment. Ian looks around uncertainly, and then gets to work, walking into a cluttered room.

Madison giggles and whispers to us in a British accent, "Poor old chap."

I snigger and say, "He has no idea what he's gotten himself into. Try to go easy on him, though, Darcy. Please, he's British."

"Alright," Darcy pouts, "I'll try. Wait a minute, I thought you said that _you _hired him?"

"I did."

"But you just said 'he has no idea what he's gotten _himself _into'." she says. I nod and reply, "Well, he and a bunch of other people volunteered for the internship. So, technically, he _did _somewhat get himself into this."

Madison shrugs, "Yeah, I guess so. But he seems a little new at this."

"Yeah, this is the first time I've actually used him." Darcy says and I raise an eyebrow, "Really? It's been over a year."

"What? I didn't need him before."

Darcy sits up and grabs the Xbox remote. Clicking it a few times, she says, "What other songs do you want to sing?" Groaning, I flop down onto my side. "Nooo," I cover my ears, "No more singing, _please_?"

Grinning mischievously, Madison stands up, "Alright, why don't we sing 'Love Story'?"

"Nooooo!" I moan louder, "Enough about love! Love sucks!"

"You would know." she snorts, but then cringes at the glare I shoot her. She did _not _just say that!

"Don't _ever _bring him up." I growl and she takes a step back, raising her hands, "Alright, alright, sorry, that was mean."

"Bring who up?" Darcy asks, looking between the two of us with a curious expression. Then, she perks up and asks, "Oh oh, is it that Faolan guy you were fussing about last year?" I turn my glare to her, but unlike Madison, she doesn't get intimidated as easily. Instead, she turns around and faces the TV, "Well, are we going to sing or what?"

I sigh, grab the remote, and search through the songs. As I do, my mind begins to wander the male wolf mutant roaming around on an island in the Pacific, staying behind to be the crosslink between humans and mutants. Last I saw him, Kaiser had passed away, due to age, and he was leading the Pack with Esarosa.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I force the memory away and focus on reality.

None of the songs seem very good, but one catches my eye. My lips curl upward in a mischievous smirk as I see a familiar song in the list. Clicking it, I turn to Madison and begin singing.

_"They see me rollin'. They hatin'. Patrolling they try to catch me ridin' dirty-"_

"No!" Madison screams, covering her ears, "No no no no no no no no no no no no no no no!"

I burst out laughing while she snatches the remote away from me and turns off the song. Gasping, I giggle and wipe an imaginary tear out of my eye, "Oh, you know I had to do that! Consider it payback!"

"I hate you." she sticks her tongue out at me and turns off the TV. Glancing at Darcy, I laugh, "If there's anything you need to know about Madison, it's that she _hates _rap."

"Aww, but I love that song!" Darcy says, and they we both sing, _"Trying catch me ridin' dirty! Trying catch me ridin' dirty! My music so loud. I'm swaggin'. They hopin' they gonna catch me ridin' dirty!"_

"Ahh, shut up!" Madison yells, running away. Before she can get very far, though, she trips over some science thing and falls on her face. I snort and help her up. She clutches her nose and mutters, "Ow!"

"Are you bleeding?" Darcy asks, handing her a tissue, "'Cause I really don't want blood on my carpet."

She glares at her and takes her hand away, "No, I'm fi-"

Suddenly, Ian walks back into the room with a beeping device in his hands. We all look up at him as he approaches. "It seems your device is picking up readings." he says, looking down at the equipment in his hands, "Strange, I've never seen-"

Darcy walks over and snatches it from him. She fumbles with it for a few moments, and then starts banging it on the kitchen counter. The device continues beeping.

"Shh!" she hisses at it, "Be quiet! Hmm, it must be malfunctioning."

Looking cautious, Ian suggests, "Perhaps those readings are important to your work? I've seen some of Jane Foster's work, and-"

Once again, Darcy interrupts him, "Good idea, intern! Let's take it to Jane!"

Tilting my head, I ask, "Jane is here too?"

She nods and says, "Yeah, but she's been all mopey ever since Thor left so quickly. She's probably at her mom's house eating ice cream and watching rom coms. Come on, let's go!"

She walks towards the door, but Madison calls after her, "Wait, but we're not even ready!"

Darcy glances over her shoulder and scoffs, "It's just her mom's house, not a fancy restaurant!"

Ignoring her, Madison dashes towards the guest room. Darcy sighs and looks at me. I shrug, "Whatever."

Walking after Madison, I search through my suitcase and pull out a black leather jacket that I got from a London mall. Keeping my tanktop, I put the jacket on and then take out some jeans. Once I'm in those, I put on a belt, and then some black boots.

Standing up, I look at my reflection in the mirror and mentally snort. I've always had a rebellious streak, and I'll admit that I dress boldly. However, lately I've been starting to wear full out punk clothes, but they look really good on me! It must be because of the haircut I got- now I've got loose bangs that start on the left side of my forehead and grow longer as they reach the right side, occasionally dangling over my right eye sometimes. Also, Mom let me get a few piercings to draw the attention away from my shredded left ear (remember last year when I fell off the cliff?) and they make me look way more cool. Not to mention my now badass collar, which I may or may not have had SHIELD change a _little _bit.

I smirk at my reflection, then grab my phone and walk back to the door.

Ian and I wait for Darcy and Madison to finish changing. When Madison is done, she comes out wearing one of those beige London trench coats and relatively warm colors. She cut her strawberry-blonde hair as well, and now she has a sort of tousled bob hairstyle.

Darcy walks out of her room a moment later, and then notices my appearance and wolf-whistles, "Wow, Zoey, you're wearing all black. Scandalous!"

I grin and say dramatically, "Welcome to the Dark Side."

* * *

"Don't be rude, alright?" Madison says as Darcy and I hop out of the car.

Turns out, we really _did _go to a fancy restaurant and _not _Jane's mom's house. Well, we did go to her mom's, but our little scientist wasn't there. And then her mother told us she was on a date with some guy named Richard.

Boy, did that take us by surprise!

Anyway, right now we're in the parking lot for an expensive-looking restaurant. Darcy and I, being the bold ones of the group, are going to swagger inside of there and drag Jane out. Meanwhile, Ian and Madison, the wusses of the group, are going to stay in the car and be prepared to drive us out quickly in case security guards chase us.

"Promise me, Zoey!" Madison says, holding the door open from the inside. I shake my head and slam the door in her face, "Sorry, I can't make that promise."

"Come on, wolf-girl!" Darcy says, leading the way towards the restaurant. I follow her, and soon we're inside.

Fancy is an understatement. There are a bunch of glass windows everywhere, marble walls and floors, gaudy tables and chairs, and it smells _awesome_. I look around, trying to pinpoint one of the scents, and then spot a plate of chicken. Sure enough, it looks amazing, but is _tiny. _

I glance at the menu and shake my head at the high prices. Tsk tsk…

The hostess clears her throat, catching our attention. She looks us up and down, seeming skeptical. After a moment, she puts on a fake smile and asks, "Can I help you?"

"Yeah," I say, stepping forward, "We need to get in there." I gesture to the room with all the dining people. Red rope and two intimidating guards separate us from them.

"Did you make a reservation?" she asks and Darcy speaks up, "Don't worry, we're with friends."

The hostess looks at her papers, "Oh! Are you with the Agnews?"

I nod vigorously and she nods, "Go right ahead."

We quickly walk away and enter the dining area. Once we're out of earshot, Darcy snorts, "Agnews?"

I wave a hand and roll my eyes, "Who cares? Now, we've gotta find Jane before that thing drives me insane." The beeping gadget still hasn't shut up since it started, and I feel my sanity slowly draining away with each annoying beep.

"Hmm…" Darcy hums, standing on her tippy toes to see above everyone. A moment later, she exclaims, "There they are!"

I follow her gaze and spot Jane sitting with some guy at a two-person table. Jane seems to be hiding behind her menu, and her date looks a little awkward. Compared to Thor, this guy sucks. I don't like him. I want Thor and Jane to stay together. They have to! But first, I gotta get this 'Richard' out of the picture.

Before Darcy can drag me over to them, I pull her back. She gives me a questioning look and I say, "We've gotta crash the party at the right time."

"Oh, right," she says, glancing over her shoulder at the two, "But how do we know when?"

"I'll listen." I reply, trusting that she knows that I mean with my wolfness, "You cover me and… just try to look casual."

"Got it." Darcy says, standing next to me and taking out her phone. Glancing at it, I see that she's playing CandyCrush and roll my eyes.

Hiding my face behind her shoulder a little, I cast out my super-hearing senses. It takes a few moments to blur out the other conversations, but I manage to focus on Jane and her date.

"Hi." I hear Richard say.

"Hi."

"So, what's the story with you?"

"Why does there have to be a story? There's no story." Hmm, Jane sounds a little nervous.

"You've spent the first ten minutes of our date hiding behind a menu that has three choices on it. It's either chicken, vegetarian or fish, Jane. I'm thinking there's a story, and the story either involves a guy…?"

I roll my eyes again. Nice start, Richard.

"It's complicated..."

"...Is he still around?"

"No. He… went away."

"I've been there." I mentally snort at that. "The going away part. I was seeing a woman and ah, she took a job in New York. Eventually the distance killed it. And the fact that she, uh, she kept sleeping with other dudes."

I stifle laughter as Jane exclaims, "No!" Darcy looks at me curiously and asks, "What's going on?"

"Now!" I whisper, dragging her over to the table, "Now, now, now!" I half heave half shove Darcy towards them and follow, right on her heels. Richard looks up at us and asks, "Hi, um, could we get some wine please?"

I snort. Do we _look _like waitresses?

"Sure, I'd love some." Darcy says, and then pulls two chairs over to the table. They make a loud screeching sound and a few people glare at us. Darcy and I sit down and she starts buttering a piece of bread.

Looking shocked, and a bit angry, Jane glances at us and then at her date, "Richard, this is Darcy." She glances at me with a surprised expression, "And, uh, Zoey."

I give a little wave and say, "What's up? It's been a while, huh?" Meanwhile, Darcy glances at Richard, and the looks back at Jane and mouths, "Sweet." with a thumbs up.

"Hi." Richard greets us. Darcy gives him a smile and then starts eating her bread. I notice his gaze lingering on me for a few seconds longer than it should, and I realize that he's staring at my multicolored eyes and the scars on my face from when I fell off a cliff last year. I send him a glare and he looks away.

Oblivious to the eye game her date and I just had, Jane narrows her eyes and hisses, "What are you two doing here?!"

"So, we show up for work at the lab-slash-your-mum's-house," Darcy explains casually, "Fully expecting you to be moping around in your pajamas eating ice cream and obsessing about You-Know-Who…"

Richard nods his head, "Ah."

It takes me a moment to realize that she was talking about Thor and not Voldemort.

"But you're not!" Darcy exclaims, ripping off a piece of her bread and handing it to me, "You're wearing lady clothes-"

"On a date at a fancy restaurant with a Brit." I add, ignoring the look Richard gives me. I take a sniff and say, "You smell good. Did you use, like, BathAndBodyWorks or something?"

Jane gives her date an apologetic smile and then says to us, looking as if she's about to explode, "Is there a point to all of this? Because there really needs to be a point to all of this..."

"I'm thinking Aqua Blossom." I say, still going on about her scent, "I would've gone for Caribbean Escape, but Aqua Blossom's good too."

"Right." Darcy says, swallowing her bread, "You know all the scientific equipment you don't look at anymore?" She reaches into her bag and takes out the beeping device, "You might want to start looking at it again. This is the reason we came all the way out here."

Jane takes the device and looks at it with wide eyes, "It's malfunctioning."

"That's what I said." Darcy says. Jane then thumps it hard on the table, making Richard flinch. I let out an irritated sigh. I really don't like this guy.

"That's what I did!" Darcy says, "But you just hit it a little more scientifically."

I laugh a little and finish my part of bread. Still feeling a little peckish, I grab another piece and start buttering it.

Jane glances at Richard and hands the device back to her intern, "I'm sure it's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing." Darcy counters, "Kinda looks like the readings that Eric was rambling about." she turns to Jane's date and says, "Our friend Eric kinda went banana balls."

I snicker and Jane glances at us, "I'm not interested. I'm not interested. Time for you guys to go now."

Geez, way to kick us out.

Darcy looks between the two, and then gets to her feet, "Okay. Let's go, Zoey." I stand up, but before I follow her, I take the rest of the bread and put it in my pockets. Then, I salute and say, "Tally ho."

Turning around, I walk after Darcy. Behind me, I hear Richard mutter to Jane, "Short, but sweet."

"They need help." Jane says and I snort. _We _need help? No, _she _needs help. For crying out loud, she's going out with _him. _She's going to need all the help she can get!

Catching up to Darcy, I ask, "So, what now?"

Without looking at me, she replies, "We wait. Trust me, she'll come."

I nod and take out a piece of bread, offering it to her. She takes it and asks, "Did you bring butter?"

"Nope." I reply, to which she shrugs and takes a bite out of her butterless bread. We walk out of the restaurant together and head towards the car. Madison lowers her window in the back seat and asks as we approach, "Where's Jane? Were you rude?"

"Jane's coming in a few minutes." Darcy says and I shrug, answering her second question, "Depends on how she takes it."

"Oh, God, Zoey. What did you say?" Madison groans as Darcy and I sit down in the front seats.

"It wasn't _that _bad," I say, glancing back at her, "Look, I brought bread!"

"Is is _their _bread?" she raises an eyebrow and I smirk, "Maybe."

My step-sister sighs and murmurs, "Oh, Zoey, what am I going to do with you?" I turn back around and reply, "I dunno. Figure it out while I listen to music."

Then, I take out my earbuds and my phone and listen to music. Darcy does the same, playing her music so loud that I can hear it through mine. A few moments later, I spot Jane stomping towards us angrily. Turning off my music, I sit up and say, "Ooh, here comes the dragon!"

Jane yanks my door open and says, "Zoey, in the back." Seeing as it's kind of pointless to argue with her while she's in this mood, I obey without complaining and climb over my seat. She sits down and says, "Man, I hate you two."

"What? I thought he was cute!" Darcy defends, starting the car. Jane shakes her head, "Just shut up and drive." Wow, how ironic. I was just listening to 'Shut Up and Drive' by Rihanna!

Darcy obeys and starts driving. As we pull out of the parking lot, Madison asks, "What'd they do?"

Jane shakes her head, still flustered, "They are so embarrassing!"

Madison gives me a look and I grin sheepishly.

"Keep this up and I'll tell Steve." she says and my eyes widen, "You wouldn't!"

"Try me."

"Who's Steve?" Ian asks, making Jane jump in surprise. "Who's he?" she asks, glancing back at us.

"My intern." Darcy replies, "Remember? Zoey got him for me that Christmas we spent with the Avengers."

"Oh," the scientist says, and then looks down at her phone, "I have to call Eric."

"Avengers?" Ian echoes, and then looks down at the GPS on his lap and says, "Ooh, take a right." The car suddenly jerks to the right, making me slam into the intern.

"Left!"

Darcy swerves left onto the next street. Meanwhile, Madison and I cling on for dear life.

"I have totally mastered driving in London!" Darcy announces.

I roll my eyes, "You wish!"

**Zoey and Darcy... I freaking love them! They are, like, mischief buddies! Anyway, tell me what you think about the first chapter! And the next time I update, I might have a pic of Zoey or Madison's new looks. **

**'Till Saturday!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hola... Honestly, I thought this story would be a bit more popular. Thanks to all the people that are sticking with me!**

**The title of this chapter is from Katy Perry 'E.T.'**

**I only own my characters**

Chapter Two

You're from a whole 'nother world, a different dimension

A factory.

An old, abandoned one at that.

It looks like no one has been in here for years. The whole place is rundown, dirty, and covered in graffiti. A dark cloud is floating above it, stretching out so it seems to fill the whole sky. So, yeah, it's kinda creepy here.

And of course this is where the beeping device tells us to go.

Madison glances at me uncertainly as she gets out of the car. I frown and follow her. When I get out, a heavy, musky scent fills my sensitive nose. My spine tingles and I narrow my eyes. Something's not right here….

Glancing at Jane, who's walked ahead a little, I call out, "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Come on, this is exciting!" Darcy says, and then gestures to Ian, "Look, the intern is excited!"

Ian corrects her on his name, but she simply waves it off and asks Jane, "You want the phase meter?"

"No." Jane replies, looking a little distracted as she begins to walk off. Darcy looks back at Ian, tosses him the car keys, and says, "Bring the phase meter. The toaster-looking thing."

"I know what a phase meter is." Ian mumbles, reaching into the car.

I roll my eyes and look back at Jane, only to see her farther away than before. I sigh, feeling strained and frustrated. She can't just go wandering off in a place like this! Can't she feel the… the _creepiness _here?

Ian says something to Darcy and Madison, but I walk after Jane. As I catch up, her cell phone rings and a strange song starts playing. Jane takes it out and mutters, "How do I change the ringtone on this thing?" as she answers.

Behind me, I hear Darcy say, "An astrophysicist with three degrees should be able to change her own ringtone." I glance over my shoulder to see the brunette walking over to us with her phone up to her ear.

Sighing, Jane asks, "Why are you calling me?" She puts away her phone as Darcy replies, "I didn't want to shout. Intern says this way."

Walking behind her, Ian corrects his boss again, "Ian. My name is Ian."

Ignoring him, she follows Jane as she steps towards an entrance in the building. As we get closer, the feeling of unease grows stronger and I tense up. I glance around, my eyes darting to and fro suspiciously, glaring at the shadows in the building.

To my surprise, the Wolf starts stirring in my mind. I never hear much from it nowadays. _Bad place, _it growls, shaking its imaginary head as if flicking away an annoying fly, _Bad feeling. Don't go closer._

_I can't leave my friends to go in here alone, _I retort softly, forcing it out of my mind. Madison glances at me and asks, "Are you alright? You seem a little… jumpy."

I step closer to her, feeling instinctively protective. Still glancing around, I reply lowly, "I dunno. This place isn't… good. There's something else here- I can feel it. The Wolf can too."

"The Wolf?" Jane echoes, looking back at me, "Do you think you could have, like, a sixth sense or something?"

"Maybe." I mumble, and Ian asks, "Wolf? Wait, why would she have a sixth sense?"

Oh, right. He doesn't know about my powers.

Darcy pats his shoulder and says, "It's a long story that you may never hear."

Ignoring Ian's reaction, Madison asks me quietly, "Do you want me to help you keep the Wolf out for now?"

I hesitate, and then shake my head, "No… it might be useful. Just let it be for the moment." She nods, and suddenly a flock of pigeons take off, making me flinch. I glance around, my sensitive ears picking up the sound of footsteps. We all freeze.

"I am not getting stabbed in the name of science." Darcy mutters. Then, she shouts, "It's okay, we're Americans!"

"Is that supposed to make them like us?" Jane hisses.

Narrowing my eyes, I sniff the air. Then, I consider how heavy the sound of the footsteps are, and relax.

"It's alright, guys." I say, "They're just kids."

"Oh," Jane lets out a sigh of relief, walking forward slowly again. Ian eyes me suspiciously and look away. I grab Madison's hand to make sure she's following and then walk after Jane and Darcy, who are approaching a cement wall.

We look behind it and find three kids, a few years younger than me, hiding in a bunch. They look up and stare at us with wide eyes.

The only girl in the trio steps forward and asks in a British accent, "Are you the police?"

"No, we're scientists." Jane replies softly, "Well, I am."

"Thanks." Darcy mutters.

Another child, a boy, stands next to the girl and says, "We just found it…"

I tilt my head, "Found what?"

The three glance at each other and the girl says, "It's… strange. Abnormal."

Jane takes a step towards them and asks, "Will you show us?" The trio glance at each other again, muttering something. Finally, one of the boys nods his head, "Alright. Follow us."

They walk away quickly and we follow them. They stride with confidence as if they own the place and know it like the back of their hands. I huff and walk next to Madison. As the kids lead us deeper into the factory, the tingling in my spine grows stronger. Eventually, they stop in front of a cement truck and glance back at us.

Then, one of the boys touches his fingertips to it, and to my surprise, it _floats. _We all gasp and watch as it slowly rotates, spinning around in the air. Alright, I did not see this coming...

"That doesn't seem right." Darcy quips.

The Wolf growls in the back of my head, pacing and lashing its tail wildly. _Get out, _it rumbles, _Get out. Bad place. You can feel it. You know, so why aren't you leaving?_

_Jane wants to study this stuff, _I hiss at it, _And while she's here, I'm acting as everyone's protector. It's not all about me, you know?_

The Wolf falls silent as the kids begin to lead us elsewhere. They start climbing up a staircase and we follow them. Then, when we're about four stories up, they stop.

"Why are we here?" I ask. The girl turns and grabs an old bottle, "Watch." Then, she proceeds to drop it from the stairwell. Instead of shattering on the floor, though, it just _disappears. _

"Where'd it go?" Jane asks, looking around. The girl points upwards and we look to the sky. Suddenly, the bottle reappears and falls again, once more disappearing into the same invisible field. We watch it do that a couple more times and then she catches it.

Gaping, Jane murmurs, "That's…. that's incredible."

Getting an idea, I turn around and pick up a soda can. I attempt to drop it like the girl, but when it disappears, it doesn't fall back down.

"Where is it?" I ask and the girl shrugs, "Sometimes they come back, sometimes they don't."

Darcy gives a little bounce of excitement and exclaims, "I wanna throw something! Jane, give me your shoe."

"Here." Madison grins and takes a crumpled piece of paper out of her pocket. She drops it, and it reappears at the top and falls back down again. Meanwhile, Jane stares at the beeping device, which is no longer beeping but I'm still calling it that, and mutters, "I haven't seen reading like these since… since…"

"New Mexico?" Darcy suggests and I echo, "New Mexico? What does New Mexico have to do with this?"

Jane glances at us and then runs down the stairs, "Don't touch anything!"

Darcy turns to Ian and says, "Give me your shoe." He stares at her and she stares back, holding out her hand expectantly. Then, he shakes his head and simply hands her a chunk of concrete he finds on the floor.

Giving him a look, she throws it down and we watch as it disappears and then falls back down. Madison grabs a crumpled-up old newspaper and tosses it down. We continue to throw stuff with the kids, entertaining ourselves as they fall back down. As we do, though, my enhanced ears pick up the sound of wind blowing strongly below us, but then it stops and I simply shrug it off.

I watch as Ian tosses down a pair of keys, but when they disappear, they don't return. We all stare down the stairwell and Darcy asks, "Were those the… car keys?"

Ian steps back, looking guilty, "Oops."

So what do we do?

Continue throwing stuff down.

About an hour later, though, we get bored and start looking for new things to do. Madison glances around and wonders aloud, "Where's Jane? Shouldn't she be back by now?"

"Oh, she's probably doing some science thing." Darcy says and I raise an eyebrow, "For almost an hour and a half, without even giving us a call?"

"Hmm…. you're right." she replies, and Ian suggests, "Perhaps we should go look for her?"

"Yeah, let's split up." Darcy says, clapping her hands together. Immediately, Madison and I both exclaim, "No!"

"Are you crazy?" I hiss, "Have you _never _seen a horror movie before?"

"If we split up, we are all going to _die." _Madison adds dramatically. Darcy shrugs and asks, "Well, what do you suggest we do, then?"

After a moment, I sigh and say, "I'll go look for her."

They all stare at me as if I'm crazy, but before they can protest, I say, "Look, let's face it. I'm the best tracker." I gesture to my nose, "And anyways, I can keep in contact with Madison through-"

My step-sister interrupts me by clearing her throat loudly. She glances at Ian warningly and I nod, "...Right. So, if I'm not back in an hour, come look for me."

"Alright." Madison says, "Stay safe."

"Watch out for Slenderman!" Darcy calls after me as I descend the staircase. The little girl adds, "And be careful around a big empty room!"

Big empty room?

I roll my eyes and step down to ground level. I take a deep sniff and find Jane's scent trail. It's a little old, but I can still follow it.

The trail leads me deeper into the factory, and I get the feeling that the kids don't go here very often. It's even darker and dirtier than the rest of the place. Feeling a little uncertain, I continue walking.

Suddenly, Madison pops into my mind, _Are you alright?_

_I'm fine, Madison, _I reply, _Geez, I've only been gone for fifteen minutes. Take a chill pill._

_Well, you can't blame me for worrying. This place is creepy!_

I roll my eyes, _NOW you realize that?_

Madison scoffs and leaves my head. I huff and continue following the trail.

Eventually, it stops in front of a graffitied cement wall. I blink and look around, confused.

"It can't just… end." I murmur, circling around the scent. In my head, the Wolf snarls, _Get away! Get away from the wall!_

_Why? What's wrong with it? _I ask, staring at said wall. Well, there _is _something wrong with it. It's covered in graffiti. _Never seen graffiti before? _I snigger and the Wolf growls, _Look closer. Feel the air around you._

Snorting, I examine the wall closer. Now that I think about it, I guess the wall does look a little strange. Narrowing my enhanced eyes, I can barely pick up a faint _shimmer _here and there, which disappears in an instant.

Then, I really notice how taut my muscles are, and how the hairs on the back of my neck are standing, and how my spine is tingling. I can _feel _something here, I just don't know _what _it is. Hey, maybe I have a sixth sense like dogs do! Oh, that'd be so cool!

Suddenly, I hear the sound of somebody falling and look up. Feeling hope spark in my chest, I start towards where the noise came from.

Unfortunately, it takes almost ten minutes because the sound echoed and bounced off the walls, confusing me. Then, I come a across a large, empty room. Hmm… didn't that girl warn me about this place? I don't see what's so dangerous, though.

There's something lying on the ground, and as I creep closer to it, I realize it's _Jane_!

"Jane!" I exclaim, rushing towards her, "Are you alrig-"

Suddenly, I stop dead in my tracks. The Wolf circles and stomps in my head, _Are you crazy?!_

_What? _I ask, staring at Jane's unconscious body, _What's wrong?_

_Sniff the air, _it orders and I obey, inhaling deeply. What I smell makes my skin crawl and I feel the Wolf's presence grow stronger. I smell Jane's scent, but there's something mixed with it. It's not a human smell - heck, it's so strange, I don't even know if it's from _Earth. _

Instinctively, I take a step back and knit my eyebrows. I sniff her odd scent again, and then turn around and walk away.

_Where are you going? _the Wolf asks and I reply, _Just checking something._

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle are clicking together.

The bottles disappear.

So does Jane.

Then, Jane's scent trail just randomly _ends. _Scents don't do that.

The wall shimmers, and I feel something strange, like back at the floating truck or the stairwell.

Then, I just find Jane lying on the ground, and she smells strange.

I just have to find the next piece, and the puzzle will be complete. Man, do I feel like Sherlock right now.

Ten minutes later, I find myself in front of the shimmering wall again. The Wolf tenses and growls, _What are you doing? _

Ignoring it, I take a deep sniff. I can faintly smell the abnormal scent that's on Jane. Hesitating, I put my hand on the wall.

Only, I don't.

My hand _goes right through._

As it does, my blood fizzes and the Wolf hisses, _Get away! _

I do the exact opposite.

Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes and walk through the wall.

A strong, metallic scent reaches my nose and I open my eyes. I'm in a cavern. A _really _big one. And made entirely out of stone.

I'm standing on a long stretch of rock that reaches out into the center of the cavern. On the end lies a strange rectangular slab of stone, standing tall and vertical. Cocking my head, I slowly walk towards it, eyes darting around suspiciously.

_You moron! _the Wolf snarls, _Look what you've gotten yourself into!_

_A cave, _I reply bluntly, and then force it out of my mind. Thank you, Bruce, for teaching me that little trick.

I get closer to the rectangular rock and notice a line cutting through the middle, as if it was once split in two. Narrowing my eyes, I bring my face closer to it and sniff.

Instantly, I reel backwards. I clutch my head as the Wolf's presence grows stronger and stronger, trying to force its way out. Hissing, I push it back down and look up, glaring at the stone.

I should get out of here.

When I turn around, though, I don't see a door. I see a wall, and on its side is a staircase. A staircase with _really _big steps.

Hmm…

I walk towards it, and then pause, getting an idea. Putting two fingers to my temple, I call out in my mind, _Madison? Madison? Can you hear me?_

No reply.

Well that's just great.

I glance around, then shrug and start climbing up the stairs.

* * *

Madison's POV

Five hours later…

"Jane!"

I hear Darcy exclaim and see her running towards the astrophysicist, "Where the hell were you?!"

I dash towards her and ask, "Where's Zoey?"

"Zoey?" Jane looks at me, "I didn't see her. Is she missing?" Then, she sees the scene behind us and groans, "Oh, please don't tell me you called the police!"

"Well, what were we supposed to do?!" Darcy asks and Jane says as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "_Not _call the police!"

"We were freaking out!" I exclaim, "We didn't know where you went, or what had happened!"

"You call the cops, they call the Feds." Jane paces, looking frustrated, "Next thing you know, we have SHIELD crawling all over the area as if they're running the place!"

"Jane!" Darcy tries to interrupt, but her boss continues ranting.

"We had a stable gravitational anomaly! We had unimpeded access! Our only competition was ten years old!"

"Jane!" both Darcy and I shout, and she stops. Her intern says, "You were gone for five hours!"

"And we don't know where Zoey is!" I add and Jane's eyes widen, "What?

I sigh as it begins to rain and say, "I can't even talk to her through our minds! I…" I take a deep breath, trying to choke back tears. "If I can't contact her with our minds, then she's either really far away or…" I cut myself off, unable to finish.

Jane rubs my shoulder and says reassuringly, "It's alright- she can't be dead. You know how tough your sister is."

I nod, and suddenly Darcy mutters, "Hey, look at this." We both look up and notice that the rain isn't falling on us. I frown, "That's weird."

Jane looks to her left and gasps. I glance over her shoulder and my eyes widen.

Standing there in the rain, full armor and everything, is Thor. Jane rushes towards him, but as soon as she's two meters away, rain pours down on Darcy and I.

I shiver and we both mutter, "Typical."

**Zoey's in Asgard, whoo! Alrighty, so I've got a pic of her on DeviantArt, if you want to see her new look. I'll have Madison on there next Saturday. The link for Zoey is on my profile. **

**Kk, later**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	3. Chapter 3

**Heeeeeeeeeeeeyyyy! Damn, it's so hot over here. What's happening? It's supposed to be cooling down for Fall! Anyway, I don't have a picture of Madison for you guys- I might draw her a bit later, but I've been busy with writing and school and... watching How I Met Your Mother. It's soooooooo good! I'm addicted.**

**The title of this chapter is from Owl City 'To the Sky'**

Chapter Three

So take a breath of myth and mystery

"So. Many. _Stairs!_" I wheeze, my legs shaking as I climb up the seventh flight of stairs. I've been at this for, like, ten minutes already, and I'm beat. Sure, if these were normal stairs, I would already be at the top by now. But no, these stairs are _huge!_

It's like they were made for eight-foot-tall trolls! By the second flight, I gave up and started climbing on four legs like a dog. Hey, no one's here to see me do it! It sped things up a little bit, but I still had to take breaks.

I gasp for breath as I flop down on the top of the flight. Aww, man.

I don't know where the hell I am, how I got here, or what's at the end of these stairs. Huffing, I rub my forehead.

_So, Wolf, _I try desperately, _Have anything useful to say to me?_

The Wolf stays silent, only lingering in the back of my mind. I roll my eyes and continue climbing. As I do, I glance at my watch, only to see that it's not on my wrist. Ugh, why do I have to be so forgetful all the time?!

I sigh and look up. There's a faint light up ahead, right above the ninth flight. Hope driving me on, I speed up and scramble onto the ninth flight's steps. Unfortunately, since I'm going so fast, my hand accidentally slips on a stair and I hit my chin.

"Ow!" I grunt, rubbing my jaw with my hand. I glance at my other hand that slipped and see a cut on my palm. It's small, but it still stings. I growl and scoff, "Fantastic."

Disgruntled, I continue climbing towards the light. Hmm… hasn't something like this happened in a movie before? Must- move- toward- the light!

"Focus, Zoey!" I hiss to myself, finally reaching the top of the ninth flight. Scrambling to my feet, I take a look at my surroundings. I'm in a large hallway and at the end there's two strange-looking doors. A faint light shines through the crevice between them and the floor, and also happens to be the only light in the room, so it's kinda dark in here.

Waiting for my eyes to adjust to the darkness, I slowly walk towards the doors. As I near them, I see a keyhole and smile. Kneeling down, I make sure my neck is in line with the keyhole and then tap my SHIELD collar. It hums to life, and I say quietly, "Lockpick."

Immediately, a piece of metal comes out and sticks into the hole. After a moment, I hear a click and the metal returns to my collar. Smirking, I stand up.

A while ago, I asked Fury to make my collar cooler, and so he had his engineers…. update it. So, now I have various SHIELD tech all tucked into it around my neck.

When I try to open the doors, though, they barely move. I push again, but it's as if some force is preventing me from opening them. Frowning, I glance down at the light peeking through the crack underneath. No, nothing's blocking them. I try one more time, and then give up.

Sighing, I take a step back and look around. Now what?

Just then, the Wolf decides to make itself helpful, _Try using your senses._

I hesitate and then obey, casting out my enhanced senses. Hmm… nothing very interesting to smell here except for the heavy, damp scent of the stony cavern. The strange scent of the rectangular thing is gone, much to my pleasure.

Everything feels pretty normal; I'm not as tensed up as I was before and my spine stopped tingling.

So, now for my hearing. At first, I don't notice anything except for the dripping of water in the cavern below me. Then, I hear _wind. _And it's coming from above me. I let myself grow wolf ears as I try to pinpoint the source of the sound.

Right over…. there!

I look up at a blank stone wall. Hmm, maybe my hearing isn't as good as I thought it was.

I glance around me, utterly stumped. The Wolf peeks out a bit in my mind and says, _Look closer._

Obeying it, I examine the wall closer. I half expect to see a shimmer here and there like with the other wall, but then I notice some loose rocks a bit above me. Narrowing my eyes, I let myself grow claws and dig them into the nooks and crannies between the stacked boulders, trying to climb up to the loose rocks. Grunting, I heave myself upwards and reach, clambering onward until the rocks are right in front of me.

Tilting my head, I start clawing at the stones and jerk back in surprise when they easily slip out and clatter to the ground. The sound echoes throughout the hallway and I wince, hoping that no one is around to hear.

Looking back, I see a gaping hole before me, all dark and foreboding. A slight breeze brushes my face and I instantly climb into it. I have to move away a few more rocks to get in, but they fall down easily and nobody comes charging in at the noise.

Inside the hole, I find a tunnel. It goes two ways, one with the wind blowing from it, and the other not. I frown, debating which way to go.

The one with the breeze should lead me outside, I think, but the other…

I pause, listening, my wolf ears perked. Are those…. are those voices?

Without hesitation, I crawl in the opposite direction of the breeze. As I go deeper into the tunnel, the light fades completely. The air grows cold and I assume that it has never felt the warmth of the sun.

The tunnel is rather large and poorly dug, and I'm somewhat reminded of those tunnels that prisoners would dig in TV shows to escape prison. Oh, God, if this is one of those, I'm gonna freak out.

Thankfully, it looks like no one has been in here for a while, because I run into a bunch of cobwebs along the way. Well, I'm not so thankful for that, but I'm glad that I won't find myself face to face with a fugitive.

I move on, relying on hearing, smelling, and feeling. The voices grow steadily louder and louder as I get closer. At one point, they seem like they're right below me and I look down.

The voices are muttering quietly and after a moment they stop. I can barely hear the sound of footsteps fading away and sigh. Well, now what do I do?

I continue crawling forward, but before I can get very far, the rock underneath my upper part suddenly gives away and falls.

This time, I'm sure that somebody heard the clattering, because the same voices speak up again, but louder this time. I grimace and move backwards, away from the hole. Heavy footsteps approach and I hold my breath, my wolf ears pinned back in fear.

I watch nervously as two large men in strange-looking armor run over and glance up at the hole in their ceiling. Ducking, I wait for their reaction.

One of the guards picks up the rock that fell. Shifting it in his hands, he says with a familiar accent to his partner, "I knew we should have alerted the commander about this. With all the weight above us, these dungeons are bound to cave in at some point."

"I agree." the other man says with the same accent, "I shall go ask someone to repair that hole." With that, he walks away. His partner glances up at the hole one more time, and then puts down the rock and leaves.

Immediately, I let out a sigh of relief. That was close.

After waiting for his footsteps to fade away, I stick my head through the gap. I quickly check that no one is nearby and then heave myself through the hole, quietly plopping on the ground while letting my wolf ears shrink back to normal. I mentally thank Natasha for some stealth tips that she once gave me.

Looking up, I glance around at my surroundings and gape.

It seems that I'm in some sort of… prison. There's a bunch of odd square rooms around me, with veils of transparent gold color acting as the walls. Stone columns connect the four corners and I get the feeling that these are jails. Inside of the cages, though, are the strangest people I've ever seen.

Some of them look more like animals than humans, others like trolls and giants and even some dwarf-like things. Most of them have their own cells, but some have to share with another being. They all look tough and scarred, with angry scowls on their faces as they pace around restlessly.

With a jolt, I realize that I've caught the attention of a few and they approach the wall of their cages and stare at me. Feeling self-conscious, I simply nod to them and walk down the hallway, trying to focus my racing mind.

Where. The. _Hell. _Am. I?

As I walk, I notice that some of the cells contain more human-like beings as well as strange ones. Alright, cool, that's slightly reassuring.

I silently creep towards a corner, and am about to turn, when I see a shadow approaching. My heartbeat quickens and I whirl around, running away as silently as possible. I turn, cut corners, and dash along hallways until I can no longer hear him behind me.

Before I can rest, though, I see another guard in the same hallway as me. Thankfully, his back is turned, so I manage to silently creep away and then sprint away.

In my head, the Wolf says, _Stop running. You'll attract more attention and then you'll be too tired to fight. Use your stealth to sneak out of here._

_But I don't know the way out! _I whine, _I don't even know where I am!_

I feel the Wolf rolling its imaginary eyes and sighing. Then, it says, _If you pause for a moment and use your brain, you can find out. _

I skid to a halt, seeing a shadow approaching, and then spin around and run in the opposite direction. The Wolf smirks, _You could also sense the guards before you're nearly upon them._

_Oh, shut up, Sassy, _I growl, slowing down when I feel like I've put enough distance between me and the guard. Stopping, I lean against one of the columns connecting the corners of one of the cages. I gasp for breath, my lungs aching, and try to calm my rabbiting heart.

I don't notice the person in the cell staring at me until he speaks up, "Well, don't _you _look flustered?"

I jump in surprise at the voice and glance over my shoulder.

A man, looking about forty-ish, stands in the cell, gazing at me with an amused expression. He has shoulder-length black hair, green eyes, and is wearing rather fancy clothing for a prisoner. He also happens to be _really _tall.

His gaze lingers on my scars for a moment, but then the man smiles and asks in a smooth voice, "Running from the guards?" Like the others, he has the same familiar accent.

Shaking off my shock, I nod, "Yeah." I turn towards him fully and flick my bangs out of my face with a jerk of my head, "And, uh, they're guarding these prisoners, right?"

"Yes," he replies as if it's the most obvious thing in the world, "Well, more like keeping them from leaving."

"Yeah," I glance around, and then explain, "Look here, Jailbird, I'm _not _a prisoner. I just kinda… got here accidentally."

The man raises an elegant eyebrow and asks, "You got into one of the most heavily guarded places in Asgard _accidentally_?"

I snap my fingers and smile, "Yep." Then, my eyes widen and I backtrack, "Wait- did you say _Asgard?"_

He nods and I exclaim a little too loudly, "I'm on Asgard?!"

A voice booms at the end of the hallway and I turn to see three guards appear and point at me. Immediately, they start charging towards me and I groan, "Ugh, here it comes. Later, Jailbird."

Whirling around, I dash away. As I flee, the man calls after me, "You might want to take the stairs to the left."

"Thanks!" I yell over my shoulder, and then see a small staircase in front of me leading to double doors. I notice stairs going off to the left and head towards them. They're slightly more normal than the ones in the cavern, so I easily scale them and burst into a large room.

Alarms go off around me and I yelp, running to the end of the room and entering a long hallway. A large group of guards run towards me, armed and ready. Instinctively, I morph into my wolf form and jump over them. Landing hard on the ground, I continue running.

Asgard! Of all the places I could go, it has to be Asgard!

The guards chase after me and I easily stay ahead of them, crossing marble floors in leaps and bounds. It seems like I'm in some sort of castle, because everything here looks _really _fancy. Not to mention that knights in shining armor continue to pop up in random places and attack me.

I yelp as a female warrior jumps out from behind a corner and lashes out at me with a sword. Whirling around, I run away and see sunlight shining through some windows and an open door. Seizing my advantage, I sprint towards it and burst into blinding bright light. My eyes ache and strain to get used to the brightness, but I run on aimlessly.

I skid to a halt when I see the sheer drop in front of me. There's a railing, of course, but below that is a cliff, dropping about sixty feet.

Soldiers and guards behind me yell and form a circle. I snarl at them, and then glance at the drop. Alright, I know I promised, well, everyone, actually, that I would never do this again, but I have no choice.

Before the Asgardians can attack me, I whirl around and jump off the cliff. The wind whips past me as I fall, trying to keep my paws from flailing. After what seems like forever, I finally land like a cat on the ground with a loud thump. I grunt in pain, my bones jarring on the impact, and leap up.

Suddenly, an arrow whizzes past me and strikes the ground an inch away from my paws. Yelping, I flee again, barging through crowds of commoners and peasants, who scream and get out of my way.

I weave through the crowd for a while, dodging arrows, swords, and people. The place seems to go on forever, and soon, I'm panting.

My paws are beginning to ache, both from the impact of the fall and from running so much. I accidentally crash into a barrel and knock it over, spilling beans all over the floor. I jump over them and hear some of the soldiers slipping and falling.

Up ahead, I see an odd colorful bridge that seems to stretch all the way out into the night sky. Oh, cool. Running towards it, I leap onto it and immediately slip, the surface smooth and slick. The momentum causes me to continue sliding across the bridge, my claws scraping uselessly against the glass.

Looking up, I see two horses galloping towards me and scramble to my paws. Still sliding, I manage to leap over them, but when I land, my paws slip again and I collapse onto the bridge.

Behind me, the horses neigh loudly and I hear a woman cry out in fear. The soldiers yell and I turn around, preparing to fight.

To my surprise, _Thor _jumps off one of the horses and dashes in front of me, shielding me from the warriors.

"Do not harm her!" he shouts to them and they lower their weapons. The female soldier that attacked me before speaks up, saying, "Prince Thor, this beast somehow broke into the dungeons, something only a few powerful beings could do, and attacked innocent peasants."

"I didn't attack them!" I bark, getting to my paws, "You guys were chasing me and they were in my way."

"Zoey?" I hear a familiar voice say and turn to see Jane on the other horse. She stares at me with wide eyes and exclaims, "What are you doing here?!"

"Looking for you." I answer and she rolls her eyes, "I can't understand you."

Oh, right.

I morph back into my human form and say, "I went looking for you and somehow wound up here. And then _they _attacked me." I jerk my thumb to the Asgardian soldiers.

Thor glances at me and then at the warriors, "Tis is Lady Zoey. You recall me speaking of her, do you not? I told you that she is both wolf and human."

The soldiers' eyes widen, as if remembering something, and the female warrior steps towards me, "Our deepest apologies, Lady Zoey."

Before I can say anything, Jane asks, "Did they say you were in the dungeons? How'd you get there?"

"Long story." I reply, waving my hand, "Anyway, what've you been up to?"

"Uh," she glances at Thor, and then says, "...Long story."

"We shall have time for those later," Thor interrupts, gesturing towards the horses, "Right now, we must bring Lady Jane to Asgard's best healers, quickly."

He lifts me onto the back of Jane's horse and my eyes widen, "What? Why? What's wrong?"

Jane laughs a little and replies awkwardly, "I'm… a little sick, I guess. I kinda got hurt."

"Really?" I arch an eyebrow, "Well, I just fell off a cliff."

She rolls her eyes and scoffs, "Really, Zoey? Again?" I raise my hands and then point to the soldiers, who are starting to walk away, "Hey, _they _were trying to kill me! That's what happens!"

"You jump off cliffs when Asgardian warriors chase you." Jane says bluntly and I grin.

"Precisely."

**This is probably obvious, but kudos for those who can guess who was the person in the cell that Zoey talked to.**

**Tallo ho!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hola, readers of fanfiction! I have come to you with a new chapter!**

**The title of this chapter is from Britney Spears 'Toxic'**

**I don't own MARVEL. Sadly**

Chapter Four

Don't you know that you're toxic?

"Cool!" I exclaim, gazing at the hologram of Jane's body. The Asgardian healer, Eir, uses some weird magic stuff to pull something out of it and the rest of the body disappears. The real Jane is lying on some odd bed beneath it, looking up at the hologram curiously. Her bed seems to be floating mid air while the healers work on her.

Eir frowns a little, prodding and poking the golden blob. She moves something, and Jane's eyes light up.

"What's that?" she asks curiously, pointing at it.

Instead of answering her question, Eir commands, "Be still." Jane looks disappointed but falls silent and stays still. I wonder how long that will last.

Meanwhile, I'm standing next to Thor with my arms crossed, watching the scene in front of me. My spine is tingling again and the Wolf paces restlessly around in my head. I continually tap one foot on the ground, my body tense.

Beside me, Thor moves closer to one of the healers nearby and asks, "This is not of Earth. What is it?"

The healer glances at something in her hands and replies quietly, "We do not know. But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her."

Well, that's not good.

"Can you get it out of her?" I ask and the healer looks at me, "We'll try." She walks away and I turn back to Jane, who is still curious about the energy field above her.

"That's a quantum field generator, isn't it?" she asks, looking up at something.

"It's a Soul Forge." Eir replies, barely even glancing at her. Jane tilts her head and asks smartly, "Does a Soul Forge transfer molecular energy from one place to another?"

Eir looks at her with an impressed expression and says, "Yes."

Jane glances at Thor and I and whispers, "Quantum field generator." Thor smiles affectionately, but I simply stare at her, too busy thinking to respond. I can't shake off the feeling that there's _something else _in this room besides us. Ugh, curse my sixth sense- without it, I could actually be having a good time! I mean, it's not everyday you just find yourself on Asgard!

I sigh, shift my weight, and begin picking at my nails. Thor glances at me and asks, "You seem agitated, Lady Zoey. Is something the matter?"

Immediately, I shake my head. No need to worry anybody.

"No," I reply, "It's just-"

Before I can finish my sentence, somebody bursts into the room. I glance up and see an old man with white hair and a beard, a golden eyepatch, and Asgardian armor. _And _he looks pissed.

"My words are mere noises to you that you ignore them completely?" he snaps, striding over to us. He waves an arm and the hologram above Jane disappears. Eir immediately stops and bows down in front of him. I raise an eyebrow, staring at her incredulously, and then glance up at the man.

Alright, who is this sissy?

Thor moves in front of Jane, standing between her and the man, "She is ill."

"She is mortal." the person retorts, "Illness is their defining trait."

My eyes widen. Uh, excuse me?

"Oh, that's nice." I sneer, glaring at him. The man turns to me and says, "You. You were the beast that got into my dungeons."

"Tis was an accident." Thor defends me, but I step beside him and hiss, "And I'm a wolf, not a _beast_, alright? In case you haven't noticed, Sherlock, there's a big difference."

Thor sends me a warning glance and the old man narrows his eye. I jerk my eyebrows and then move to stand next to Jane.

Sighing, the God of Thunder explains, "I brought Lady Jane here because we can help her."

"She does not belong here in Asgard any more than a goat belongs at a banquet table."

My jaw drops disbelievingly. He did _not _just say that.

Jane sits up, looking outraged, and glances at me, "Did he just-?" She looks to the man and asks angrily, "Who do you think you are?"

"I am Odin," the old man introduces himself and I close my mouth, "King of Asgard. Protector of the Nine Realms."

...Oh...

I think I remember Thor talking about Odin a couple of times. He's his dad, right? The one that banished him to Earth, thus leading him to meeting Jane? So, yeah, he's a pretty important person.

That doesn't mean I like him, though.

All of the sudden, Jane doesn't look so brave anymore. She opens her mouth slowly and stammers, "Oh… Well, I'm-"

"I know very well who you are, Jane Foster." Odin cuts her off, and turns to me, "As well as you, Zoey Colt. Though Thor never mentioned your ignorant demeanor."

"Nice to know the Nine Realms have such a kind protector." I snap back and then smirk. Alright, I may have gone a bit too far, but I do _not _regret saying that.

Everybody falls silent, watching Odin and I as we have a stare-off. He gazes at me coldly and I glare back. Neither of us blink, and soon my eyes begin to water. He seems to be analyzing me, taking in the scars on my face and my shredded ear. Good, I hope he doesn't underestimate me. The thing about having scars is that they make you look tough, so people take you more seriously.

After a while, Odin narrows his eye and says in a quiet, but deadly, voice, "Watch your tongue, mortal, or you may regret it." Then, he turns around and walks towards Eir. I let out a sigh of relief and smile smugly. Zoey 1, Odin 0.

Thor follows his father as he mutters something to the healer and says, "There is something within Lady Jane. Something I have not seen be-"

"Her world has healers, they're called doctors." Odin waves his hand casually, "Let them deal with it. Guards! Take them back to Midgard!"

Two guards approach us and I tense, baring my fangs in a snarl. Thor steps forward and says, "No, I would not-"

Just as one of the guards grabs Jane's arm, there's a flash of red and I'm thrown off my feet. My back slams into the wall and I groan in pain.

Suddenly, the Wolf's presence in my mind lurches forward, _Morph! Let me out! _

_What? _I exclaim, clutching my head as it tries to force its way out. I feel my snout grow longer, claws unsheathe, and fur sprout all over my body.

Hissing, I force the Wolf back down, not fully transformed yet.

_What do you think you're doing?! _I growl as it thrashes around.

_Let me out! _the Wolf howls, _Time to morph! Time to fight! _

It lurches again, making me groan as I try to resist transforming. _Back off! _I snarl, forcing it down again. The Wolf jerks once more, but this time it's weaker. Finally, I manage to push it back, hissing, _And stay there!_

"Zoey!"

I open my eyes in time to see my body morphing and returning to its human form. Panting, I look up and see Thor and the healers staring at me. Odin is bending over Jane, who seems to be a little loopy, and examining her closely.

Thor helps me up, and I notice some of the healers backing up a bit.

"Are you alright?" the God of Thunder asks. I nod, noticing how I'm shaking, and ask, "What was that?"

Thor turns back towards Jane and replies, "I do not know."

"Well, whatever it was, it pissed off the Wolf." I rub my head, making sure that said Wolf is staying back.

Odin waves a hand over Jane's inner forearm and murmurs, "It's impossible."

"What is?" I ask, walking over. Eir looks up at Odin and asks, "The infection, it's defending her?"

Thor shakes his head and says gravely, "No. It's defending itself."

Odin turns to the two of us, his gaze lingering on me for a moment longer, and then commands, "Come with me."

* * *

"So, you really told your dad about me?"

I listen idly as Jane whispers to Thor. He laughs a little and replies, "Of course, dear Jane. How could I not?"

She giggles and I roll my eyes.

Odin leads us through a hallway and into a large chamber. Inside, there's a bunch of fancy stuff, but the most eye-catching thing lies in the center. It's a huge, _huge _tree, with long, branching arms that are full of lush leaves. Amongst the branches are nine floating orbs, each glowing a different color and lighting up the room.

So, yeah, it's _really _cool.

My perk up and I ask Thor, "Hey, what's that?" I point to the tree and he smiles, "That is Yggdrasil, the World Tree. It shows all the Nine Realms."

"Cool!" I stare at the Yggdrasil, "Which one is Earth?"

Thor points to one and replies, "Midgard lies at the trunk."

"Wow." Jane gasps, joining us as we stare at the tree. Meanwhile, I grin and say, "Yay, we're in the middle."

"That must be why Earth is called 'Mid'gard." the astrophysicist comments and my eyes widen, "Ohhhhh, that makes so much sense!"

Suddenly, Odin's voice booms, "You can goggle at the Yggdrasil later. Now come."

I huff and walk after the others as they follow Mister Bossy into a library nearby. Odin grabs a book and brings it to a desk.

"There are relics that pre-date the universe itself. What lies within her appears to be one of them." the king explains, gesturing to Jane, "The Nine Realms are not eternal. They had a dawn, as they will have a dusk. But before that dawn, the dark forces, the Dark Elves, reigned absolute and unchallenged."

He opens a large, ancient book. To my surprise, the book illuminates as he selects a page.

"'Before the eternal night, the Dark Elves come to steal away your light'." Thor reads aloud, the illustration moving as he does, "These were the stories mother told to us as children."

I frown. How are children fairytales going to help us?

"Their leader, Malekith, made a weapon out of that darkness." Odin says, and the picture in the book shows an elf draped in red clothing addressing another group of elves. Something black and red sprouts from its hands, and Odin continues, "It was called the Aether. While the other relics often appear as stones, the Aether is fluid, and ever changing. It changes matter into dark matter, and seeks out host bodies, drawing strength from their life force."

I glance at Jane and see her face paling a little bit. Thor has an 'oh shit' look on his face.

"Malekith sought to use the Aether's power to return the universe to one of darkness. But, after eternities of bloodshed, my father Bor finally triumphed; ushering in a peace that lasted thousands of years."

"Yay?" I arch an eyebrow, "How is this helpful?"

Odin glares at me and I raise my hands, looking back at the book.

"What happened to the Dark Elves?" Jane asks, making Odin turn to her. After a moment, he replies, "He killed them all."

"Yikes." I quip.

Thor glances at the book and then at his father, "Are you certain? The Aether was said to have been destroyed with them, and yet here it is."

"The Aether is the stuff inside of Jane?" I clarify, and Thor nods. I knit my eyebrows and remark, "That's not good. The Wolf is really sensitive about it."

Odin turns to me and asks, "What is this wolf you speak of?"

Sighing, I quickly explain about the Wolf in my head, and how it sometimes tries to take control, like back at the healer room. I add its reaction to the Aether and the portals from Earth to Asgard.

Jane's eyes widen and she exclaims, "Why didn't you tell us anything?"

I simply shrug.

She turns to the book and glances at Odin, "Does your book happen to mention how to get it out of me."

Odin looks at her for a moment before replying, "No. It does not." He closes the book and begins to walk away. I give Jane a disbelieving look and then throw my hands up in the air exasperatedly. How can he be so freaking casual about it?

Scowling, I rudely call after the King of Asgard, "Well, then what was the point of showing us that?"

"So you can understand the origins of the Aether." he replies immediately without looking back, as if he'd already expected me to say that.

Thor walks after his father, and I turn to Jane.

"Can you believe him?" I hiss. She takes a deep breath and sighs, "I shouldn't say anything bad about him if I'm...well, you know. With Thor."

"Uh huh." I drawl, "But still! He's so conceited! I mean, I know humans have shorter lives than Asgardians, but that doesn't mean he's better than us! I swear, I am going to-"

"Zoey." Jane interrupts, putting a hand on my shoulder. I glance at her and she says, "Maybe you should back off a little bit."

"Why?" I ask.

"Well…" she looks around awkwardly, "Ya know… he's the king here, and… a lot of Asgardians like him. I just don't want to cause trouble. So, just _try _to be a bit nicer. Or at least stop with the snarky comments. Please?"

I stare at her, and then sigh, "Fiiiine."

"Good," Jane smiles, and then laughs, "I think you're spending too much time with Stark."

I grin and shrug, "Hey, he's not a _terrible _influence, you know?"

* * *

I lean against a marble column and rub my forehead tiredly. My bed felt _way _too soft last night; the chamber they gave me for the night was so fancy, I was really uncomfortable in it. At least the bathroom was nice- I smell _awesome _now! Also, some maids came by and gave me Asgardian clothes. Right now, I'm wearing a dark green toga-like thing with gold lining the ends, collar, and sleeves. To top it all off, I have a black cloak draped over my shoulders and I did my hair up all fancy.

Once the maids had left, I literally stood in front of the mirror for half an hour, just staring at my reflection. I actually look surprisingly good in green and gold. The cloak seemed a little dark at first, but now it's pretty cool.

"Lady Zoey, I truly am sorry for attacking you."

I jump in surprise and glance at the female warrior from earlier. Giving her a half-smile, I say, "Eh, I guess it's alright. If _I_ saw a giant wolf running around my house, I would probably try to get it out, too."

The warrior smiles and holds out her hand **(a/n idk if asgardians shake hands but wutever), **"I am Lady Sif."

I shake her hand and reply, "Well, you already know who I am, so nice to meet you."

After dropping my hand, Sif gestures to the door (I'm in the palace, by the way) and asks, "Care for a tour of Asgard?"

Grinning, I nod and follow her outside, "Thanks."

And thus, for the next hour or so (I'm not sure, since I don't have my watch), Sif leads me around Asgard, telling me about the it and its people. She shows me the training grounds, where to-be soldiers learn how to fight and shoot arrows. The archers are actually really good, and I feel a pang of regret for forgetting _Nightlock _in Darcy's apartment. Well, then again, I didn't know I would wind up on Asgard, so it's okay.

Sif tells me about the palace and the architecture, which I could've gone without but still listen eagerly. She shows me the schools and works that Asgardians do if they aren't soldiers or peasants.

At first, I think it's really cool and nice of her to be doing this for me, but I soon find out the real reason she offered the tour.

We're passing by a few guards and she comments, "The Einherjar keep us safe at night and protect our most valuable possessions. They also guard the dungeons."

Sif glances at me and asks, "Forgive me, Lady Zoey, but may I ask how you managed to get into our prison? Very few beings can get past our Einherjar."

I shrug my shoulders and reply, "It's a long story. To put it short, I kinda just walked through a wall and popped up on Asgard. Crazy, huh?"

Sif looks a little disappointed at my short answer, but I silently make it clear that I'm not going to tell her the real story. So, she simply smiles and hums, "Interesting."

After that, she leads me outside again. I don't listen to much of what she says anymore, and instead just look around while listening to her idly. At one point, she leads me to a courtyard, and when I glance up, I see Thor and Jane making out on a balcony thing above us.

I smile and pause, waiting for them to separate. When they do, Jane mutters something to him, and then catches my eye. I smirk and hold up two thumbs.

"Nice kissing, sweetheart!" I yell up at them, making both of them turn and stare at me. Thor laughs while Jane, looking embarrassed, calls down to me, "Oh, shut up!"

Sif, who apparently saw their kiss, rolls her eyes and scoffs. I look at her, somewhat surprised. Is she jealous?

Grinning, I begin to walk towards the wall and say to Sif, "Hey, thanks for the tour, but I think I'm going to join them now."

"Alright," she replies, and then noticing my position, says, "There are stairs over-"

"Nah, it's fine!" I wave my hand and begin to climb up the wall, easily scaling it due to all the nooks and crags meant for flower pots. Soon, I'm heaving myself over the top.

Jane and Thor seemed to have been talking about something, because Jane jerks in surprise and exclaims, "Zoey! What are you doing?"

She helps me over the wall and steadies me to my feet.

"Asgard's fun!" I comment, panting a bit.

Suddenly, a smooth voice speaks up, "I'm glad to hear that." Looking up, I see a beautiful woman draped in a toga-like cloth standing before us, smiling.

Thor looks at us and gestures to the woman, "Jane Foster, Zoey Colt, please meet Frigga, Queen of Asgard. My mother."

Jane smiles, "Hi!"

I greet Frigga and smirk at Jane. As Thor speaks to his mother, I lean over to Jane and whisper, "Better act like a princess if you want her to be your mother-in-law someday."

Jane's eyes widen and she hisses at me, "Shh!"

I snigger and follow Frigga as she leads us to hell-knows-where.

**Yep. I purposely put Zoey in green and gold clothes. You know why ;)**

**So, the Wolf acts crazy around the Aether, Zoey hates Odin, and Frigga just joined the party. Find out what happens next on Saturday!**

**Tally ho!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	5. Chapter 5

**'Sup guys? Don't have much to say, so I'm gonna get right to it.**

**The title of this chapter is from Lady Gaga 'Bad Romance'**

**I don't own MARVEL**

Chapter Five

'Cause you're a criminal

"I've heard wonderful things about you, Jane Foster." Frigga says in a smooth voice as she leads me, Jane, and Thor along an outdoor hallway. Jane smiles and asks, "Really?"

Frigga nods and adds, "I've also heard much of you, Zoey Colt."

I glance at Thor, getting an uneasy feeling. I hope he didn't say everything. There are some thing, such as the Wolf in my head, that I wouldn't like to exploit to all of the Nine Realms. Oh, and there was that one time….

Looking back at the Queen of Asgard, I ask cautiously, "How much?"

Frigga's eyes twinkle in amusement, "Only the good parts."

I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good.

We walk for a little while and chat. It's mostly Thor and Frigga that do the talking, but Jane occasionally pops in, and I throw out a few comments. As I walk next to Frigga, though, I start to feel self-conscious and underdressed. I mean, compared to Frigga, I look like a hobo, even though I've never worn anything as fancy as this. But Frigga- dang, what she's wearing is more like a dress to a ball in heaven! And her hair looks like it took hours to do.

I look around, really noticing things now, and sure enough, everybody looks 100% better than me. Not that I care, though. I doubt that I'm going to see much of these people once I'm back on Earth, so whatever.

Suddenly, an alarm goes off, making us all look up in surprise. The alarm sounds familiar, almost like the ones back at-

"The prison." Frigga murmurs, looking concerned. Thor tenses and steps forward, "Loki." I raise an eyebrow. What does low-key have to do with any of this? Well, I guess he must mean that _he's _low-key, because the prisoners are obviously going to get pwned.

Mother and son look at each other, and then Frigga says, "Go. I'll look after them."

Thor nods and takes off his cloak, running to the balcony. I dash after him and yell, "Hey- wait! I can fight too!" The God of Thunder glances over his shoulder, "Not in this battle, dear Zoey. Tis too dangerous- you will stay here."

"Oh, what, so I'm not tough enough?" I snap, making him turn fully towards me.

"Do not twist my words." he says, "Stay here and protect Lady Jane and my mother." With that, he whirls around and runs to the balcony again. I sprint after him, but he suddenly leaps off the edge, grabs Mjolnir as it hurtles past, and flies towards the main palace. My eyes widen and I skid to a halt.

Dang.

I glare after him, but then Frigga calls to me, "Come, Lady Zoey. You can be our protector." Sighing, I turn around and walk back to them. Jane smiles and looks at Frigga, "So, what do we do now?"

"I must speak to my husband," the Queen replies, leading us out of our current building and towards the main palace, "And then we shall wait in my chambers."

"Oh," Jane says, sounding a little surprised, "So, is this like a really serious thing?"

"It could be."

Well, that's not good.

Frigga sets a fast pace, and before I know it, we're back at the palace. Soldiers run around dutifully, moving towards their proper positions.

I spot Odin nearby, walking towards us with a group of armored Asgardians behind him. He's speaking to the commander, but I see his one eye glance at his wife.

Looking back, I nudge Frigga and point to Odin, "There he is." She nods, turning and leading us towards him. As we approach, I hear him saying, "Send a squadron to the weapons vault, defend it at all costs. Seal the dungeon."

"Odin." Frigga calls out as soon as he's in earshot. He looks at his wife, "Frigga."

The commander behind him awaits dismissal and Odin nods, saying, "Go!" before turning to Frigga again.

"It's a skirmish. Nothing to fear." he reassures, but she doesn't look convinced, "You've never been a very good liar."

Odin looks at Jane and I, saying, "Take them to your chambers. I'll come for you when it's safe."

"I can fight." I say immediately, stepping forward. He gives me a calculating look before nodding at a group of soldiers passing by, "Go with them."

I glance at Jane and Frigga before walking after the soldiers. I notice Sif amongst them and watch as she turns to glare at Jane before continuing on. Oh yeah, she's totally jealous.

Smirking a little, I follow them as they burst into the dungeons. Inside, chaos is raging as prisoners and Asgardians battle it out. Sif leads the group as they charge into the fighting, but I stay back a bit, choosing my enemies.

Spotting a half-beaten troll thing, I pounce, transforming into my wolf form, and batter him to the ground. The troll groans in pain and I send a blow to his head, knocking him out. Then, I drag him off to the side so he won't get in the way and leap back into battle.

I sink my teeth into the leg of another troll thing and rear up on my hind legs so he's dangling slightly in the air. Then Sif, who was fighting him, swings her sword and decapitates him. I wince and drop the dead body. Gross.

Sif goes off again and I look for another rival. Thor seems to be having a little trouble with three… uh… what are they called? Marauders- three Marauders as they all attack him at once. He battles two, but one clings onto his back.

Growling, I leap over the fighting and land beside him. Then, I grab the clinging Marauder's scruff in my jaws and tear him off of Thor. I slam him into one of the walls of the cells and whirl around, kicking out with my hind legs and driving him further into the force field. He screams in pain, the field burning him, and then blacks out when I kick his head.

Thor finishes off the other two and glances over his shoulder. When he sees me, his gaze softens a little, but he has an annoyed tone in his voice when he says, "Lady Zoey, I told you to stay with Frigga and Jane Foster."

"Well, it was a good thing I didn't, because it looks like you need my help." I reply cockily, even though he can't understand me. Turning around, I lash out with my claws at a crocodile/human thing that's tackling a blond Asgardian.

The croc whips towards me, but before it can attack, the Asgardian jabs his sword right through its torso. It drops dead and I nudge the blonde to his feet.

"Thank you, Lady Zoey." he says, but instead of fighting again, he decides to introduce himself even though we're in the middle of a battlefield, "I am Fandral of the Warrior's Three. Pleasure to meet you."

He hold out his hand, and I glance at it before awkwardly shaking it with my large paw.

"Well," Fandral says, looking around at the dwindling prisoners, "Hopefully this battle shall soon be over."

To my relief, he turns around and starts fighting a dwarf-like creature. I gaze after him with a bewildered expression, and then sigh and pounce onto one of the trolls. Before I can do anything, though, a Marauder suddenly rams into me with a surprising amount of force.

The momentum carries me to one of the walls of the cages. I grunt, hitting my shoulder, and stumble to my paws as the Marauder, accompanied by three others, charges at me.

Two of them immediately jump onto my back and try to drag me to the floor while the other two lash out at me with swords. I yelp, trying to worm out of their grip, but they pin me to the ground.

Before one of the standing Marauders can slice my head open, Sif suddenly appears and stabs him in the back. The other turns to her, and while he's distracted, I focus on the two on my back.

Getting an idea, I heave myself to the side and roll over, crushing them underneath me. One of them groans and lets go, but the other simply slides a bit and clings to my shoulder. Hissing, I jump to my paws and ram him into the force field. He screams in pain, and after a few moments, I back away and he drops to the ground, sizzling.

Looking up, I notice the person behind the cell wall staring at me. He's sitting against a column with a book in his lap. A moment later, I realize he's the same man that told me I was on Asgard back when I came out of the cavern.

Giving him a half-smile, I bark, "Your buddies didn't let you out of your cage, Jailbird?"

'Jailbird' stares at me for a few more seconds, then narrows his eyes, "Fenrir?"

"What?" I yap, tilting my head. Who's Fenrir? Oh, well he probably doesn't recognize me anyway because I'm in my wolf form.

Suddenly, the whole room shakes, making the battle pause for a moment. Everybody looks up, and I eye the rain of dust falling from the ceiling. The sound of crashing and breaking comes from above us, muffled by the distance but still audible. After a pause, everybody continues fighting, but I glance at Jailbird, who looks slightly concerned next to me.

"Frigga." he murmurs and my eyes widen. Odin said the Aether was powerful, and if I've learned anything from movies, it's that people love power. Judging by all this noise above us, Asgard is under attack. And the only reason someone would attack us is to get to the Aether, which is in….

Shit.

Immediately, I barge through the crowd, knocking both prisoners and Asgardians flying as I pass. I leap over the stairs and smash through the doors. Scrambling to my paws, I continue dashing down the hallway and into the room where I last saw the Queen and Jane.

Okay, now where are Frigga's chambers?

Sniffing around, I pick up her scent and follow it. The trail leads me into the Throne Room, where a bunch of Asgardians and weird elf-like things are fighting.

Pros: There's a lot of Asgardians.

Cons: The elves have guns.

Growling, I hide behind a column and morph back into my human form. Tapping my collar, I mutter, "Laser."

Instantly, a red sniper scope/glass springs out of my collar and positions itself in front of my left eye. Below it, a laser pops up and strikes a red dot on the ground.

SHIELD tech.

Glancing back at the battle, I aim the dot on an elf's head and mutter, "Shoot." In a flash, a red spark shoots out of my laser and hits the elf. The creature drops dead and it's rival looks around in confusion. I smirk smugly and continue zapping elves.

As the battle rages on, I notice a particularly unique elf striding past all the others. He strolls purposefully, as if he owns the place. Also, the fact that he's the only one wearing a crown thing instead of a mask pretty much makes him stand out.

And the fact that he's…. white. Like, _really _white. I'm not trying to sound racist, but _seriously_… this guy's white.

The elf takes something out of his belt and tosses it at the throne. Suddenly, it explodes and the throne is sucked into a black hole. The elf continues walking as if nothing happened, confidently heading towards some double-doors.

Another- I don't even know if it's an elf- follows him, and I assume he's some sort of beta. He looks tough, though, and I instantly know that my laser won't be able to penetrate his armor-like skin. The white elf, however…

Getting an idea, I wait for the Big One (I'm just calling him that now) to close the doors, before quietly sneaking after him. I find myself in a large room/hallway full of statues and other stuff you would see in a museum. There are two guards in front of another set of double-doors that carry Frigga's scent, but the white elf quickly kills them with a few slashes of his sword. Then, he and the Big One walk inside.

I consider my chances. Hmm… either I could bring the Fist of Hell on the two of them inside the room, thus risking the injury of Frigga and Jane. _Or _I could pull a Hell Ninja on them and attack them stealthily.

…. the latter sounds better.

Quietly, I turn to the right and sneak towards a window. Frigga _must _have a balcony- what queen doesn't?

Unsheathing my claws, I climb up to the window and zap a hole in it with my laser. Wriggling through it, I cling onto the windowsill, eyes widening at the long drop below me.

I gulp nervously. Jeez, I'm like a two-hundred feet up.

Tearing my gaze away, I look for Frigga's balcony. Oh, good, it's only a few feet away. Digging my claws into the soft stone, I carefully shimmy over to it. Thankfully, there's poles attached to the main railing, so I grab onto those and glance inside.

What I see makes me gasp.

Frigga, Queen of Awesomeness, is _fighting. _She's fighting the white elf, and boy is she kicking his ass!

Behind them, I see Jane watching from beside a column. I frown and look around. Where's the Big One?

I watch as Frigga disarms the white elf and then proceeds to smack him to the ground. Pinning him beneath her, she puts her blade to his throat. Before I can cheer, though, the Big One suddenly appears and snatches her sword. The large elf grabs her back and lifts her into the air. She struggles to get out of his grip, but then he presses her sword to her back and she freezes.

The white elf turns to Jane, who tenses up.

As he starts walking towards her, though, I flip myself over the railing and charge at the Big One. Leaping onto his back, I dig my claws into his neck while kicking Frigga away before she can get stabbed.

The Big One thrusts me off of his back and I land painfully on the floor. He charges towards me and I yelp, "Grapple!"

Immediately, a mini grappling hook snaps out of my collar and shoots between his legs mid-run. It imbeds itself into a stump of a nearby table and drags me (rather painfully) by the neck. As it does, I roll onto my back, summon all of my mutant strength, and kick the Big One's butt. He stumbles forward, and then I unhook my collar and charge at him. Using one of Natasha's favorite moves, I leap into the air and slam my feet into his back, sending him tumbling over the balcony. I reach back with my hands, feeling for the floor, and flip myself back up before I can break my neck.

And that, my friends, was by far the coolest thing I've ever done.

But hey, can you expect anything less?

I practically _live_ with the Avengers.

Meanwhile, Frigga retrieves her sword and throws it at the white elf. He dodges easily, but the blade goes right through Jane's stomach. I _would've _gasped, if it wasn't for Jane's body suddenly _glitching _and then vanishing.

The white elf whips his head towards Frigga and snarls, "Witch! Where is the Aether?"

Ahh, so he _is _after that stuff! Wait a minute- elf, white, and knows about the Aether? Does that make him Malekith in Odin's story? Well, he _does _kind of look like him, even though the book wasn't that detailed.

Suddenly, a burst of lightning strikes the side of Malekith's face and he screams in pain. Thor arrives and throws Mjolnir at him as he runs to the balcony. The hammer slams into the elf's back and he falls. To my disappointment, though, a harrow ship rises up, catching Malekith and flying away.

I glance back at Thor, expecting him to chase after them 'cause, ya know, he can FLY, but instead see him looking around worriedly.

"Where is Jane?" he asks, and as if on cue, Jane walks out from the back of the room and exclaims, "Thor!"

The God of Thunder rushes to his girlfriend, "Are you harmed?"

"No." she replies and I see him sigh in relief.

"Frigga." I look over and see Odin entering, his staff raised. He strides towards his wife and takes her hands in his, muttering something.

I glance at Jane and Thor, but to my dismay, they're busy kissing.

Great. I've got a royal old couple talking all lovey-dovey, mushy-mushy on one side, and a younger couple making out. I'm such a fifth-wheeler. See, this is what happens when you're a single teen who's friends all have boy/girlfriends. And Jane's boyfriend isn't even from Earth!

I can't even rely on SHIELD when I need to escape all the romance- I can _see_ the looks Maria gives Fury. It's only a matter of time before...

Sighing, I wait for the couples to finish doing whatever their emotions tell them to do. As I wait, though, I can't help feeling a pang of jealousy. These guys all have someone, while I'm stuck here alone. I guess back on Earth I have Madison but…. she's a girl- _and _my sister, so it's different.

Faolan isn't always there for me. I mean, I know Thor and Jane don't always hang out, but at least when they're together they actually talk and show, ya know, affections to each other. Whenever I see Faolan nowadays, though, it's always like a brother/sister reunion. I think we've just known each other too long to be romantic and stuff. Once we _did _try the romance thing, but it was really awkward. Like, we didn't know what to say, and it's just weird and… stiff. We have a stiff relationship, that's it.

….

...Hmm…

You know what I need?

An Asgardian boyfriend. That'll be fun. And, hey, I've already seen some pretty good-looking guys here.

It's a shame that they're probably 2,000 years older than me.

After a while, it seems like the couples need a little push, so I clear my throat and ask, "Uh, so now what?"

They all turn to me, and then to Odin. The King glances at his son, "There are many repairs to be done. I'm afraid the Dark Elves have returned, and they will stop at nothing to get to the Aether." Jane tenses and Thor steps beside her protectively. I roll my eyes.

Odin hesitates, and then sighs, "But first, we must mourn for the lives lost today. Come, we must prepare for the funeral."

* * *

The thing about action movies is that they're all about the adventure and winning and 'oh, we're so cool'. But they never mention what was lost, or how many people died. And if they do, it's not really a big thing- they basically treat them like their lives meant nothing and don't even pay attention to their mourning families.

I guess you could say I have a better perspective on things now. Watching wives, husbands, and children cry for their dead loved ones, I feel my heart clench in sorrow. Now, I'm not much of a crier, but honestly I'm struggling not to let my waterworks flow uncontrollably.

I glance down at the orb of light in my hands, marveling in its beauty. Normally, I would've asked how it works and what it's made of, but I feel like right now isn't the best time for that.

Nearby, at the top of the waterfront, Odin gives a signal with his staff. Immediately, thousands of flaming arrows are sent flying into the air. Each one lands on a boat drifting over the water and sets it on fire.

As the boats near the edge of the waterfall, Odin slams his staff on the ground and instead of falling, the vessels remain afloat in the sky. Then, the dead's spirits break up into hundreds of shining stars and rise up to join the cosmos above.

At the same time, everybody releases their orbs of light into the air. The orbs, which I'm guessing are a tribute to the dead, float gently across the night sky.

I look back at the glowing orb in my hands and then lift it up, thrusting it softly up to the heavens. It rises rather quickly and I watch it as it joins the other lights in their slow dance until I lose sight of it.

Suddenly, I feel a presence beside me and turn to see Frigga. She gazes at the scene with sorrow, the glow of the orbs making her blue eyes sparkle. A few moments later, she turns to me and says softly, "I never got the chance to thank you for saving my life."

At my confused look, she continues, "If you hadn't been there, Malekith would've had to kill me to get to Lady Jane."

"Really?" My eyes widen and the Queen nods, "Yes. As you saw with Jane's illusion, I used magic that could only be broken in my death."

"Wow." I gaze at her, impressed, "Magic's some pretty serious stuff."

Frigga nods, and then suddenly looks sad again. She gazes out at the water and says softly, "I taught my other son magic when he was a child. Thor never took much interest in it." she laughs a little, as if reminiscing a memory, "Once he tried to levitate a chair and it nearly hit an Einherjar."

I smile and ask, "Where is he now? Your other son?"

Frigga sighs, "Gone. Too far away to reach out to."

"Oh." I look away, and then add, "Sorry."

Frigga smiles and says, "No need to apologize, Lady Zoey. You didn't know." After a moment, she adds, almost to herself, "I still hold hope that he'll return as the son I once knew him as."

I glance at her, and then back out at the glowing orbs. I've never really thought about Thor's brother. Heck- I barely even knew he had a brother until now. Actually, now that I think about it, Thor _might've _mentioned him before…. hmm, what was his name again?

Eh, I dunno.

I'm pretty sure it rhymes with smokey, though.

**Yeah, I didn't kill Frigga. She's just too awesome, and I found her death unnecessary. **

**Anyway, when Zoey was fighting in the prison and saw Loki, Loki said, "Fenrir?"**

**Fenrir, for those of you who don't know, is one of Loki's sons. He's this huge wolf with immense strength. In Norse Mythology, the Asgardians tricked him into proving his strength by breaking chains and other traps. He was always able to, but then they asked a witch to enchant a ribbon into being unbreakable and made Fenrir get out of that. He couldn't, and while he was trapped, they banished him to another realm. **

**I forgot why the Asgardians didn't like him, though. **

**So, there's a little lesson for you. Hope you liked the chapter!**

**'Till next Saturday!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**

**P.S. I made a Tumblr account, in case you want to follow me. My username is Periwinkle Wolf**


	6. Chapter 6

**Okie dokie, hello my people! How art thou doing this fine Saturday? I hope you enjoy the chapter I have in store for you!**

**The title of this chapter is from P!nk 'The Truth About Love'**

**I think you all know by now that I don't own Marvel**

Chapter Six

The schemes and the plots

I sigh, climbing out of the shower and drying myself with a towel that seems to big for me. The water seems to pour magically instead of through plumbing, which I find really cool.

Once dry, I wrap the towel around my body and search for a blow-dryer, my wet black hair still dripping on the floor. Much to my dismay, I can't find one anywhere. How do people dry their hair here? Air-dry? _Please- _if I do that, my hair will start curling up!

Sighing again, I straighten up and stare at my reflection in the mirror. Dark rings lay beneath my eyes and my shoulders sag. I look exhausted.

I didn't get much sleep last night. I had a really weird dream where I was back in the dungeons. Instead of being free, though, I was inside of one of the cells. Jailbird was staring at me, and beside him was an almost exact replica of me in my wolf form. The difference was that the wolf was a dude, a bit bigger than me, had two amber eyes instead of one, and didn't have the facial scars that I do.

At first, they had just been staring at me. Then, Jailbird randomly punched the force field between us and it shattered like glass. The golden shards then proceeded to melt into him and he suddenly turned into Madison. Meanwhile, the wolf morphed into Darcy before disappearing.

Madison was yelling something at me, but I couldn't hear. She looked desperate, on the verge of tears, and I tried running to her, but I couldn't move. It looked like she couldn't either, so instead, she started mouthing something.

"Where are you?" was what she was trying to say, but before I could try to reply, I woke up with a jolt.

….

…. I thought Madison was the only one that got weird dreams!

Rolling my eyes, I walk out of the bathroom and head into my chamber. On the bed lies the same toga and cloak that I wore yesterday, except that it's clean now. I quickly change, trying not to let my hair get everything wet.

Then, I turn to the mirror and stare at myself for a few moments. My green and amber eyes, along with my black hair, really goes with my Asgardian attire. The dark cloak kinda blends in with my hair so it looks like I'm wearing a hood. The toga is a darker shade of green than my right eye, but the gold linings match the left amber one. I smile, marveling at how different I look now than I did on Earth.

Reaching up to my left shredded ear, I take out the three ring piercings on the helix (or what's left of it) and leave the one on my earlobe. I do the same to my other unshredded ear and then put the earrings back with the stuff that I came with. Then, I glance back at my reflection and nod. Better.

Sometimes, I like to go without the piercings in public, just to see if people notice. They do, but I figure that it's alright here on Asgard because a lot of people have scars and stuff, so it won't seem as abnormal.

Turning around, I walk towards the door, putting my hair in a ponytail as I do. My sideswept bangs still dangle in front of my right eye, but I simply brush them aside. Pausing outside my room, I decide to check on Jane in her chambers. It isn't far from mine, but when it comes into view, I see two Einherjar standing in front of the double-doors.

Striding up to them, I open my mouth to speak, but the one on the right beats me to it, "You are not to be in contact with Lady Jane."

Knitting my eyebrows, I ask, "Why not?"

"King Odin has demanded that she is confined to her chambers." the one on the left replies, and I outright scowl.

Whirling around, I stalk off angrily. So, Odin thinks he can keep Jane prisoner here just because she has the Aether inside of her? Well, nuh uh, buddy!

Just wait 'till Thor hears about this!

* * *

Madison's POV

"Jane isn't calling me back, Erik isn't calling me back!" Darcy paces in frustration, shaking her phone. I sigh and slump against the wall, groaning, "I've called Zoey, like, a million times! Why isn't she answering?"

"Stupid SHIELD isn't even calling me back!" Darcy starts tapping at her phone again. Meanwhile, Ian, who's watching the news, asks, "What's SHIELD?"

"A secret." I reply quickly, and then take out my phone, "Should I tell my mom about this?"

"No!" Darcy shakes her head vigorously, "She'll kill me! Hold on, I'm gonna call Erik again."

As she raises her phone to her ear, I rub my forehead tiredly. I didn't get much sleep last night.

I had this weird dream that I was in this funky, magical-ish prison, standing in front of a cage thing that had these odd golden, yet transparent, shattered glass parts stuck to it, as if they were once walls. Zoey was standing inside of the cage, staring at me. I tried calling out to her, but no sound came out of my mouth. Zoey kept staring at me, and I felt frustrated and scared. I just wanted my sister back! After a while I stopped, and we simply gazed at each other. Then, I whispered, "Where are you?", but once again, no sound had come out. Zoey actually looked like she was going to reply, but before she could, I woke up.

"Oh hey, Erik, it's Darcy again…." Darcy says aloud, and by the tone of her voice, I can tell she's leaving a voicemail, "Ah, Thor came back, he took Jane to Asgard, and, um, a girl named Zoey was with us and she disappeared too. I'm not sure where she is and, um, I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do."

I sigh, glancing at Ian, who is still staring at the TV. Suddenly, I see a rather interesting topic come on the news and listen in.

"Something else went missing this week," the news reporter says, "when astrophysicist Dr. Erik Selvig, notable for his involvement in the alien invasion of New York, streaked nude across Stonehenge…"

Ian glances over his shoulder, "Darcy, you really need to look at this. Your friend Erik… What was his last name again?"

Darcy walks over and sits down next to him on the couch, staring at the TV. The news reporter continues as the screen shows a censored naked man running around Stonehenge, "…disrobed, and began shouting at visitors to the historic site. He was later taken into police custody for psychiatric evaluation. Police are still refusing to confirm…"

Ian pauses the TV, showing a close up of crazy-eyed Erik Selvig. Darcy's expression crumples and my eyes widen, "Oh, please don't tell me this is the Erik you were talking about!"

Still staring, Darcy replies, "Yep. That's him alright."

* * *

Zoey's POV

I smirk in satisfaction as Thor strides up to Odin, who is currently discussing Asgard's protection with a group of soldiers. As expected, the God of Thunder went ballistic when I told him about Jane's confinement. We set out towards the damaged Throne Room, and along the way, Thor told me about a plan he has to get rid of the Aether and the Dark Elves. I think it's a good idea- risky, but it could work.

Hiding behind a pillar ('cause Thor told me to go away but, being the rebellious mutant I am, I stayed), I peek out and watch as Thor booms, "She's your prisoner now?"

Odin glances at his son and then turns away. Thor looks at the Asgardians that were speaking with the king and says, "Leave us."

Immediately, the men start towards the door and I tense up. If I stay here, they'll see me, but if I move, Thor and Odin will. Wincing, I hold still and hope that the soldiers just pass by without noticing the pubescent wolf mutant hiding behind a column.

Unfortunately, Fate doesn't feel like being nice today.

I inhale sharply as one of the soldiers glances at me as they pass by. His pace falters a little bit, and I recognize his blond hair and sharp appearance instantly. Fandral. Okay, okay, we're friends, right? He won't blow my cover.

At his questioning look, I press a finger to my lips and he smiles a bit, a knowing, mischievous glint in his eyes. He continues walking and I let out a sigh of relief.

"I do not wish to fight with you." I hear Odin's voice and peek out from behind the pillar to see him descending the stairs.

"Nor I with you." Thor replies, "But I intend to pursue Malekith."

"We possess the Aether." Odin says, waving his hand, "Malekith will come to us." I frown and look around at the half-destroyed Throne Room. If Malekith comes here again, all hell will break loose!

"Yes. And he will destroy us." the Thunder God points out, as if reading my mind. Odin lets out a small, almost inaudible laugh and says, "You over-estimate the power of these creatures."

Suddenly, the Wolf pops into my mind, commenting, _Always expect more of your enemies. You will be ready for them, and if they are less than what you thought they were, then you have a pleasant surprise._

_Thank you for that, _I reply, _Now shut up._

"No, I value our people's lives." Thor retorts, and then explains his plan, "Lady Zoey and I will take Jane to the Dark World and draw the enemy away from Asgard. When Malekith pulls the Aether from Jane, it will be exposed and vulnerable, and I will destroy it and him."

"And if you fail? You risk this weapon falling into the hands of our enemies." Odin quips. The Wolf huffs and says, _A leader must take risks for its Pack._

Thor hesitates, and then says, "The risk is far greater if we do nothing. His ship could be over our heads right now and we'd never even know it."

Knitting my eyebrows, I glance up and cast out my super wolf senses. Hmm… nope, I can't hear anything. Hopefully, they went back home.

The King of Asgard says sternly to his son, "If and when he comes, his men will fall on ten thousand Asgardian blades."

"And how many of our men should fall on theirs?" Thor retorts. I jump in surprise as Odin shouts, "As many as are needed!"

He suddenly falters and I narrow my eyes. How old is Odin, again?

"Ack!" the old king grunts, and then regains himself and turns to Thor, "We will fight! To the last Asgardian breath. And to the last drop of Asgardian blood."

_Foolish king, _the Wolf growls, _He is just like his enemy._

After a moment, the God of Thunder counters, "Then how are you different from Malekith?"

Odin laughs, which sounds more like a cackle to me, and replies, "The difference, my son, is that I will win." With that, he turns around and walks away. Thor stares after him until his father enters another room. Then, he whirls around and heads towards the exit doors.

Smirking, I lean against the pillar, still hidden, and cross my arms. As the prince passes by, I remark, "If you ask me, he's not a very smart king."

Without looking at me, Thor replies, "His mind is troubled, but his heart is good." I skip after him and quickly catch up. Once I'm at his side, he glances at me and says, "I thought I told you to stay behind. This was a rather private matter."

"Yeah, well you know me." I grin and shrug. Tilting my head curiously, I ask, "So, what are we going to do now?"

"Now, I'm going to think."

I roll my eyes, "Ugh. My least favorite subject."

Thor looks at me fully and says, "Yes, I'm sure we all know by now that thinking is not one of your strongest suits."

I raise my eyebrows, surprised at his sudden sassiness. Thor laughs, the sound booming across the Throne Room as we walk outside.

* * *

"Oh, mah God!" I exclaim, shoving the delicacies into my mouth, "Dis ish sho good!"

Guys, guys, guys- you should _really _try Asgardian candy sometime! Geez, it's like eating heaven! My- my mouth is so unprepared for this!

Thor chuckles a little as I continue eating like a pig. You know, these probably have a lot of sugar and I'm going to be totally fat afterwards. Or get a huge stomach ache. Yeah, I'm going to regret this soon.

…. but not right now.

I glance up as a dark-skinned man in fancy armor walks up to us. He takes off his helmet and sits down at our table. At to moment, Thor and I are at a tavern, which is some sort of restaurant/hang-out place. Not many people are paying attention to us, which I'm glad for, because I'm eating like a starving coyote.

The man looks at me and smiles a little. I stop eating for a moment and take a sniff. Metallic, breezy, and sharp- he smells like the Bifrost. So he must be the Gatekeeper Thor told me about, um, Heimdall.

Thor turns to Heimdall and asks, "You are not in Odin's war council?"

"The Bifrost is closed by your father's orders." the Gatekeeper replies, glancing in the direction of said bridge, "No one is to come or go. We face an enemy that is invisible even to me. What use is a guardian such as that?"

I frown, biting carefully into another chocolate. Well, he can still hear and smell, so he's not useless. Then again, not everybody has super senses like me. But still, this guy needs a good encouraging chat.

Before I can open my mouth to speak, Thor says, "Malekith will return. You know this. But I need your help."

"I cannot over-rule my king's wishes." Heimdall replies immediately, "Not even for you."

I shrug and decide to join in, "Everybody tells a white lie once in a while." Thor nods to me and turns back to the Gatekeeper, "The realms need their Allfather strong and unchallenged, whether he is or not. But he is blinded, Heimdall. By hatred and by grief."

_He is a weak king, _the Wolf remarks snidely, _A leader whose own feelings blind him should not lead._

_Got that right, _I agree, and then gently force it away. Heimdall smiles a little and looks away, "As are we all."

"Well, I see clearly enough." The God of Thunder replies, making him turn back to him. Heimdall says, "The risks are too great."

"Everything we do from here is on a risk, there is no other way."

The Gatekeeper pauses, as if considering his words. Meanwhile, I'm totally confused on what either of them are hinting at, too focused on my candy. Damn, this stuff is good! So long, bibble!

Suddenly, Heimdall looks at Thor with sharp eyes and asks, "What do you require of me?"

I blink in surprise. Are we planning something here?

Thor, seeming pleased, says, "What I'm about to ask of you is treason of the highest order. Success will bring us exile and failure shall mean our death. Malekith knew the Aether was here, he can sense its power. If we do nothing he will come for it again, but this time lay waste to all of Asgard."

I smile and sit up, "Well, _this _sounds interesting! What's the plan?"

The Thunder God looks at me and replies, "We must first gather my closest friends and discuss our actions." He stands up and asks, "Lady Zoey, do you mind bringing Lady Sif to us? I believe she is in courtyard."

"Sure thing." I rise and gather as much candy as I can, "What are _you_ going to do?"

"Find Fandral and Volstagg. Them and Sif are the only other Asgardians I trust to keep this quiet."

I clip my cloak back on and ask, "Where do we meet up?"

Thor gives me a look and replies, "Right now, I do not know. Just find me."

"Okie- dokie." I stuff another Asgardian chocolate into my mouth and then skip out of the tavern.

* * *

Finding Sif was easy enough.

She wasn't in the courtyard, but in the training arena. I found her while she was decapitating a dummy with a double-bladed sword. Boy, did she look bad-ass!

It was easy enough to convince her to come with me. All I had to do was tell her that Thor had a plan, and then she got this knowing look in her eyes and agreed to come.

Finding Thor was a little bit harder.

I tried following his scent trail, but he's crossed the pathways of Asgard so many times that I didn't know which one to follow. Not to mention that all the other scents totally confused me. So, in the end, I just asked people if they'd seen him and eventually caught up with the Thunder God and Heimdall as they were speaking with Volstagg.

Now, Fandral, Sif, Volstagg, Thor, and I are all sitting around a table in a dark room. I still have no idea where we are, since none of them would tell me. Apparently it's a _really _secret place.

"We must move Jane off-world." Thor begins. The dim light of the candles cast shadows on his face, and he suddenly looks exhausted. Well, I wouldn't sleep very well if I knew my girlfriend had poison running through her veins and could possibly die at any moment.

… Good thoughts, Zoey. Very reassuring.

Sif looks at him and points out, "The Bifrost has been shut down and the Tesseract locked away in the vault."

Tesseract? What's a Tesseract? I open my mouth to ask, but then realize that it's probably irrelevant and stay quiet.

Heimdall, who is standing off to the side, speaks up, "There are other paths off of Asgard; ways known only to a few."

Thor rubs his knuckles and mutters, "One, actually."

Everybody turns to stare at him. I notice that his friends are gazing at him as if he's crazy.

"No." Volstagg murmurs. I glance at him, and then ask, "What?"

Ignoring me, Fandral says, "He will betray you."

"He will try." Thor retorts softly. Meanwhile, I'm staring at everyone confusedly, totally lost.

"Who are you guys talking about?" I ask, a you-guys-better-tell-me-or-I-will-throw-a-tantrum tone in my voice. They all glance at each other uncertainty, and then Thor replies, "My brother. Loki."

"Loki?" I blurt, "That's adorable!"

I get odd looks at that.

What? Loki's a cute name, isn't it? Like, something you would name a fluffy little kitten. I'm not the only one who thinks that, right?

Judging by the looks the Asgardians are giving me, Loki isn't a very popular name. Suddenly, I remember something Fury said last year and ask, "Wait a minute- is he the guy that attacked New York?"

Thor nods and replies, "Yes. I've mentioned him once or twice, Lady Zoey. Haven't you paid attention?"

I glance up, and then at him, "I thought you were saying low-key. Like, low. And key."

Sif rolls her eyes and turns back to Thor, "Can we get back to the subject? We can't let Loki out of the dungeons."

"Wait, I thought he left?" I interrupt, "Frigga said that he was 'gone and too far away to reach out to'."

"My brother has changed." Thor replies, a hint of steel in his voice, "He's not the person I once knew him as."

I look down at my hands, "Oh." Then, I perk up again and say, "So, he's in the dungeons? Cool, we can go get him. The Einherjar are probably too busy fussing about repairs to care about guarding the few prisoners left behind. What's he look like?"

Thor hesitates, and then answers, "Black hair, green eyes, slightly shorter than me, slimmer as well…" He pauses to think about more things to describe his brother, and I start putting the pieces of the puzzle together, building up an image. As I do, the person seems very… familiar. Too familiar.

Just to make sure I'm not wrong, I suggest, "Pale as a vampire, creepy smile, and clothes that are way too fancy for a prisoner?"

They all nod, and Volstagg adds, "Not to mention his snarky attitude."

I hold up my hands, shaking my head, "Okay, wait, wait!"

This is too weird.

Looking up, I ask a little too loudly, "You mean Jailbird?"

They give me confused stares and I explain, "When I first came here, I was trying not to get caught by Einherjar and ran by his cell. We chatted a little, and he told me I was on Asgard. I nicknamed him Jailbird, 'cause I don't know his real name. He… uh… matches your description."

"What did he say to you?" Sif asks suspiciously. I think for a moment, and then reply, "He seemed impressed that I managed to get into the dungeons. I don't understand why he did all those bad things; he was pretty nice to me."

"Good." Thor says, putting his hands on the table, "Then you will come with me when we free him. Loki may be more inclined to cooperate if he sees you."

"Maybe." Fandral says, and then claps his hand on the table, leaning back, "Well, what then? Your lovely mortal is being guarded by a legion of Einherjar guards who will see you coming from miles away."

"I won't be the one who comes for her." Thor responds, and then looks pointedly at Sif. The female warrior gives him a 'seriously' look and I stifle a laugh. Not a good idea, thunder-pants. She's a jealous one.

"Fine." Sif sighs, trying not to look disappointed, and asks, "And what of the Allfather?"

I jump in surprise as Heimdall, who I totally forgot was here, says, "It is my sworn duty to notify him of crimes against authority."

"Oh…" I glance down, and then give him a sheepish smile, "Well, can you _not _tell him about this?"

Heimdall gives me a look and says slowly, "I will inform him of all betrayals…. including mine."

"Thank you, Heimdall." Thor nods to him. Volstagg scoffs and says, "Assuming you can get Loki's help _and _you can free this mortal- what good would it do? We'd all be dead the minute we step one foot outside the palace."

With a troubled look, Thor replies, "That, my friend, is why we won't be leaving by foot." He glances at Volstagg, "We'll need you to buy us time as we prepare the Dark Elves' harrow ship. It should still work."

He turns to Fandral, "Once we're in the air, we will abandon it so anyone attacking us will follow it. We will need you to bring another hovercraft."

"I'll be right below you." Fandral says, nodding. Thor smiles a little and looks at all of us. After a moment, he stands up, "Thank you, my friends. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but it is for the greater good. Malekith must be stopped, and this plan will work. We start at dawn."

With that, he turns around and leaves.

I tilt my head and smile, looking forward to seeing Jailbird again.

**Well, looks like Zoey's sticking with the Jailbird nickname. How'd you guys like this chapter? I just had to add in the 'Loki? That's adorable!' part. It just... it came to me, and I had to do it. It was just so Zoey.**

**Anywho, R&R!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	7. Chapter 7

**Aaaand I almost forgot to update today! Whoops! But I remembered! **

**The title of this chapter is from Katy Perry 'Dark Horse'**

**I don't own Marvel**

Chapter Seven

So, you wanna play with magic?

"_When Jason was at the table, I kept on seeing him look at me while he was with that other girl. Do you think he was just doing that to make me jealous? Because he was totally texting me all night last night, and I don't know if it's a booty call or not."_

I stand in front of the mirror in my chambers, changing into my new Asgardian attire while talking along to the song '#Selfie' by the Chainsmokers. Although I can't call or text on my phone, due to lack of cell service, I can still listen to music.

Today, I'm wearing a shorter, looser toga, which is once again green, along with some golden shoulder, torso, and knee armor that Sif let me borrow last night. Also, I'm bringing my old clothes from Earth in a draw bag, seeing as I'm probably not coming back to Asgard for a while.

"_So, like, what do you think?_" I say to my reflection, and then try to figure out how to put on my torso armor, "_Did you think that girl was pretty?_"

The song continues playing as I finish putting on all of my battle armor. Glancing out of my balcony, I notice the sky is still a little dark. Yeah, I woke up a bit earlier than planned. But hey, how could I sleep when I knew about all the exciting stuff happening today?

Walking into the bathroom, I quickly wash my face, and as I'm drying it, I say to my reflection, "_But first, LET ME TAKE A SELFIE_."

The beat drops and I dance around, shaking my hips and flailing my limbs in the air. Yep, this is modern dancing, people. I whip the towel in my hand and accidentally knock down a silver water pitcher left there by the maids. It clatters on the floor and spills its contents, making me have to leap out of the way to not get my shoes wet.

Note to self: No partying in the bathroom.

I move to clean the water up, but then realize that I'm not coming back and just leave it to the maids when they return. Walking/dancing out of the bathroom, I decide to take this party outside, seeing as no normal Asgardian would be awake this early.

"_What should my caption be?_" I talk along to the song, "_I want it to be clever._" Gathering up my stuff and shoving it into the draw bag, I clip on a smaller cloak, and then swing the bag over my shoulder. I put my phone, which is still blasting out music, in my pocket, and then walk towards the door.

Tying my hair up in a ponytail, I'm about to open the door when I pause. Grinning mischievously, I turn around and sing, "_LET ME TAKE ANOTHER SELFIE!"_

The beat drops again and I nudge open the door with my foot, boogying backwards out into the hallway. I flail my arms and wiggle my hips, dancing like any other teenager would.

Suddenly, I feel my back press up against something hard and immediately stop dancing. I whirl around so fast that my ponytail whiplashes into my face, making me grunt.

Pulling my hair away from my eyes, I look up at who I bumped into and grin embarrassedly. Thor gazes down at me with a raised eyebrow.

After a moment, I reach into my pocket and turn off the music. He continues to stare at me, so I glance around and ask, "Soooo….. what're you doing here? It's a bit early to start, don't you think?"

"The others are ready." Thor remarks, "Are you?"

I nod, brushing myself off and fixing my hair. Then, I give him a thumbs up and say, "Yup. Let's do this!"

The prince takes a step back and looks me head-to-toe, considering my attire. Then, he smiles a little and says, "Green and gold. They're my brother's favorite colors."

"Oh, cool." I beam, "What a coincidence!"

Thor turns around and leads me down the hallway. Thankfully, since it's still really early in the morning, no Asgardians are wandering around, except for patrolling Einherjar. We mindfully avoid them as we sneak down towards the dungeons.

Unfortunately, there's two Einherjar guarding the double-doors of the prison. I tense up and prepare to fight, but Thor mutters to me, "I'll deal with them. You go get Loki." He subtly passes me a key behind his back, which I take.

"'Kay." I slow down a little and let Thor go ahead. The two guards walk up to him, but before they can say anything, he summons Mjolnir and whacks one in the chest. As the other leaps on him, I sneak past them and stalk into the dungeons.

Right. Now, I go to Loki's cell and…. where's Loki's cell?

"Shoot." I mutter. Thinking for a moment, I let myself grow a little wolfish in order to have stronger senses. My wolf ears sprout from my head, as well my claws, a wolf-ish nose, and my… tail.

I try to ungrow the tail, to no avail, then give up and start searching for Loki's cell. It seemed a lot easier the first time when I was running from Einherjar, and the second time I kinda just bumped into him, but now I'm actually _looking _for the trickster. Of course, since Fate is mean to me, I have a helluva hard time finding him.

Sniffing the air doesn't help, since his scent is probably trapped inside of his cage. Listening, well, what is there to listen for? He's not the only prisoner here.

At one point, I end up crawling on my arms and legs because, due to me currently being in the midst of half wolf and half human morphing, my bones are bit more wolf shaped so it feels better to do so. And anyway, I move faster like this.

I continue to look around, scampering in between cells and down hallways. My keen eyes dart from cage to cage, searching for a familiar posture or too-long-for-a-dude raven hair.

After a while, I hear Thor call, "Lady Zoey!"

"Looking!" I reply, propping myself on my hind legs like a prairie dog. I glance around, and then give up. Letting out an irritated huff, I scream, "Jailbird! Where are you?!"

I start down the hallway, still yelling, and one of the prisoners snarls something in a foreign language at me. Glaring at him, I hiss, "If you're trying to be helpful, then _speak English!_"

The creature, obviously upset at being awakened, rolls his eyes and goes back to sleep. Turning around, I shout, "Lokiiiiii! Come on, I know you can-"

"What in Valhalla are you screaming about?" a familiar voice interrupts, and I whirl around to see Jailbird- or Loki, as I should now call him- glaring at me from another cell. He walks up to the force field and asks sarcastically, "Haven't you ever heard of _sleeping_?"

"Well, aren't you a ray of sunshine?" I sneer, crawling over to him. He glances down skeptically at my wolf ears and tail, raising an eyebrow. Holding his gaze, I stand up and return to my normal full human form.

Loki pauses, and then asks, "What are you doing here?"

Smiling, I shrug and gesture to the prison cells. "Ahh, ya know." I say casually, "Just taking a nice morning stroll in the dungeons."

The trickster rolls his eyes, "Because there's nothing better than _that _at the crack of dawn."

"Loki!"

We both turn to see Thor striding up to us. Loki smiles and walks over to him, "Thor. After all this time, and now you come to visit me. Why? Have you come to gloat? To mock?"

Thor stands beside me and says, "Loki enough. No more illusions."

His brother glances at me, as if debating something, and then closes his eyes and bends his head. Suddenly, he disappears in a ripple of green light. I blink in surprise and look around. Loki is now sitting lazily at a corner of the cell. His hair is messy, his clothes are ruffled, and he looks exhausted, but otherwise, he's the same.

"Now you see me."

I narrow my eyes. How did he do that? Is he, like, a wizard too? Like Dumbledore? That'd be _awesome_!

Thor approaches him from the other side of the barrier. Loki glances between the two of us and asks again, "Now, what are you doing here?"

"We're busting you out!" I say before Thor can speak, holding up the key. The trickster perks up at that, but his brother steps forward, "I offer you the chance of a far richer sacrament."

"Go on." Loki urges after a moment. Thor continues, "I know you seek vengeance as much as I do. Asgard is your home as it is mine. You help us escape, and I will grant it to you; vengeance. And afterwards, this cell."

Loki chuckles and says, "You must be truly desperate to come to me for help. What makes you think you can trust me?"

"I don't." Thor replies immediately, "Mother does. And so does Zoey."

Before I can stop myself, I blurt, "I do?"

They both look at me. I raise my hands and stammer, "Well, I mean, I don't _hate _him, but, you know, I haven't talked to him much."

Loki smirks while Thor glares at him. The Thunder God growls, "You should know that when we fought each other in the past, I did so with the glimmer of hope that my brother was still in there somewhere. That hope no longer exists to protect you. You betray me and I will kill you."

"Yikes." I frown, looking at Thor, "That's not very nice."

Loki laughs and asks, "When do we start?"

"Now." I toss the keys to his brother, who catches them. Reluctantly, he unlocks the cell and the veil of gold disappears. Loki stands up and quickly exits his cage. The God of Lies stares at me with a Cheshire-like smile, completely ignoring his brother, and comes to stand in front of me. I hold his gaze, but I can feel the Wolf pacing around in my head, growling inaudibly.

I'm not surprised. There's something else on him; it kinda reminds me of the Aether inside of Jane, and how I could sense it. But there's something different this time. It's definitely not the Aether, but it makes my spine tingle and my blood fizz. What a rush!

"I assume you already know who I am." Loki says and I nod. Holding out my hand, I introduce myself, "Yup. I'm Zoey Colt. I'm a mutant."

"I gathered that." the trickster shakes my hand, and I try not to notice how small it is compared to his, "No mere mortal would be allowed on Asgard."

Smirking a little, I say, "Actually, there is a 'mere mortal' here. My friend, Jane Foster. She got infected with this magical stuff 'cause she's a nosy little scientist, and now we're going to go take her… somewhere."

Glancing at Thor behind him, I ask, "Hey, where are we taking Jane?"

"Svartalfheim." At my blank look, the Thunder God dumbs it down, "The Dark World."

"Cool." I look back at Loki and shrug, "That should be fun." I walk past him and follow Thor as he leads us out of the dungeons. The trickster trails me after a moment, and I hear him say, "Yes, yes it shall."

A few of the awakened prisoners bang on the force fields of their cells, yelling for freedom. Smirking, I let myself grow wolf fangs and snarl viciously at a weak-looking dwarf thing. It jumps back in surprise, but then starts banging harder. I laugh while Thor gives me a look of disapproval, "Do not taunt the prisoners, Lady Zoey."

"Why?" I pout, "It was funny."

He ignores me and steps over the two unconscious Einherjar. As I hop over one, Loki comes to my side and says, "He never _did _have a good sense of humor."

"Yup." I nod, and Thor glares at us over his shoulder. The God of Thunder huffs and says, "Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to bring two mischievous beings together."

"Ya think?" I laugh, and then reach down and grab a dagger from one of the unconscious guards' pockets. At his questioning look, I say, "Hey, it might come in handy." He simply nods and turns back around.

Loki frowns a little and asks, "How do you plan on leaving Asgard?"

I shrug, "Apparently we're going to take the harrow ship the elves left."

To Thor, he asks, "Do you even know how to fly that thing?"

"How hard can it be?" the Thunder God answers simply, "Once we are on it, you will leads us through your secret pathway off of Asgard. Is that clear?"

Loki lets out a fake sigh and smirks, "You're no fun anymore."

We follow the prince as he leads us around the palace, heading towards a wide plaza lined with pillars. I notice how he's trying to be stealthy and ask, "What's up with the sneakiness? You usually strike loud and proud."

"And I've learned my lesson from that." Thor replies as I walk by his side. On his right, Loki comments, "This is so unlike you, brother. So clandestine. Are you sure you wouldn't rather just punch your way out?"

Without glancing at him, Thor responds, "If you keep speaking I just might."

"Fine." his brother shrugs, "As you wish. I'm not even here." Suddenly, a ripple of green light passes over him and in his place is an Einherjar.

"Is this better?" he says, his voice still sounding like Loki's. I gawk and my eyes widen, "Woah! How'd you do that?"

"Magic." Loki-Einherjar replies, looking over at me. There's another ripple of green light, and now I'm staring at myself. Like, an exact replica of me.

Oh my God, no freaking way!

Suddenly, I realize something and snap my fingers, exclaiming, "So _that's _what it was!"

"What was what?"

I speed up a little to see Loki-Zoey better and explain, "When you got out of your cell, I could sense your magic because I have, like, super senses, but I didn't know what it was, and now-"

"Need I remind you that we're trying to _sneak _out of here?" Thor interrupts, "So, please be silent."

"Very well." Loki-Zoey says, looking up at him, "Perhaps you prefer one of your _new_ companions, given that you seem to like them so much."

Another billow of green light, and now he's… oh God.

I cover my mouth, trying to stifle my laughter. I watch as _Captain America _grins and says, "Oh, this is much better! Woah!" Loki-Steve glances down at himself, "Costume's a bit much- it's so tight! But the confidence! I can feel the righteousness surging!"

He suddenly whirls around and starts walking backwards in front of us. Gesture to me, Loki-Steve continues, "Hey, wanna have a rousing discussion about truth? Honor? Patriotism? God bless Ameri-!"

All of the sudden, Thor grabs him and slams him into a pillar, making him turn back into his regular self. Thor pauses, his clapped over the trickster's mouth, and then steps away.

Once released, Loki hisses, "What?"

They both turn to look at two soldiers passing by the plaza. Meanwhile, I'm trying not to laugh out loud, tears of laughter threatening to spill. I probably sound like a strangled chipmunk. A few moments later, I manage to control my breathing and straighten up.

Loki glances at me, and then at Thor, "You could at least furnish me with a weapon. My dagger, something!"

After a pause, Thor takes something out of his pocket and I can hear the sound of metal clicking. The trickster smiles, "At last, a little common sense." He looks down just as his brother snaps handcuffs on his wrists. I snort.

"What?" Thor looks between the two of us, smiling smugly, "I thought you liked tricks." Then, he laughs and continues onward.

Loki and I stare at each other. Smirking, I shrug and say, "You should've seen that coming, Jailbird." before turning and following Thor.

I hear his footsteps click behind me and his voice say, "My name is Loki."

"I know." I reply without looking at him, "But since I didn't know that when we first met so I just called you Jailbird, and now it's kinda sticking."

Thor leads us out of the plaza and into an empty hallway. He stops and turns around, "We must wait here for Lady Sif to bring Jane Foster."

I nod, and he adds to his brother, "Be kind to her, Loki, or you'll find yourself back in the dungeons before you can lift a finger."

Loki rolls his eyes, but before he can retort, I ask casually, "So, why'd Odin put you in jail? I mean, I know you, like, tried to take over Earth and everything, but Thor told me about that time he and his friends snuck off to that snow realm against his father's wishes. Instead of doing jail-time, _he_ got banished to Earth."

The trickster glances at me and sneers, "Because dear _Odin _favors Thor over me."

"Brother, you know that is not true." Thor growls.

I raise an eyebrow and suggest, "Daddy problems?" At their expressions, I continue, "I've been there."

"How so?" Loki looks at me skeptically, but before I can reply, a voice calls out, "Thor!" We all glance over to see Sif and Jane walking towards us. I grin and wave at the astrophysicist, "Hey there, Stranger."

She smiles, but then her gaze rests on Loki beside me. Her smile drops and she draws ahead of Sif, "You're-"

Loki approaches her, "I'm Loki. You may have heard of me."

Suddenly, Jane slaps him across the face. I jump in surprise and let out a laugh.

"That was for New York!" she huffs and Loki grins, turning to her again. He glances at Thor and says, "I like her." Jane glares at him and brushes a few hairs away from her face. I perk up, starting to like this fiery side of Jane.

"Damn, girl." I smirk, making her look at me, "Baby's got some sugar!"

She huffs and looks away, but I can see her lips curling upwards in a smile. Thor goes to talk to Sif, so she turns to me and asks, "Where are we going?"

"The Dark World." I reply in a creepy voice, wiggling my fingers next to my face. Jane rolls her eyes and looks back at Loki. He's still staring at her with sharp eyes, a mischievous, Cheshire-like smirk on his face.

She shifts uncomfortably under his gaze and I frown. Friendly or not, Loki's still a murderer, and I don't like the way he's looking at Jane right now. Deciding to save her, I kick the trickster's ankle, making him turn to me. Giving him a warning look, I say, "Quit being creepy, Jailbird."

Before he can reply, a shout echoes throughout the hallway, "There they are! Take them!"

I whirl around and see a group of guards at the end of the plaza, pointing at us.

"On my command." One says as they prepare to attack us.

Thor steps towards them, but Sif stops him. "I'll hold them off." she says, "Take her." The warrior glances at Jane, and Thor nods, "Thank you."

The Einherjar draw their swords as the Thunder God ushers us away. I glance over my shoulder to see Loki following us, but is stopped by Sif's blade at his throat.

"Betray him, and I'll kill you." she warns, her voice cold. I pause, watching as he laughs and says to her, "It's good to see you too, Sif."

Seeing the Einherjar come nearer, I sigh and urge, "Come on, we've got to go."

Reluctantly, Sif withdraws her blade and lets Loki pass. Once he's at my side, I continue walking and mutter, "Please don't make this harder than it already is, Jailbird."

Loki laughs, "I'm afraid I can't make that promise."

**Ehehehehehehehehehehe you like that? You like that? YOU LIKE THAT? I like that. I like de Zoey and de Loki and dey mischief buddies and dey funny and everything and asjdajsndklandlks. Yes. I am happy with myself. Just yes**

**Tally ho!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	8. Chapter 8

**Time to escape Asgard! **

**The title of this chapter is from P!nk 'Great Escape'**

**I don't own Marvel**

Chapter Eight

I'm the king of the great escape

Why do all evil things have to be black?

Why can't they be, like, gold, or green, or orange. The same goes for red. People think red is an evil color just because it is the color of blood.

Black and red are evil.

Why? I have no clue.

They just are.

So, when we walk into the half-destroyed Throne Room looking for a big harrow ship, it's pretty easy to differ it from the Asgardian ones. And why is that? Because it's black. Yep. All dark, and evil, and it smells like Dark Elves. You know, I bet there are Light Elves that are _good_.

Volstagg paces in front of the ship, wearing full battle armor and wielding a double-bladed ax. When he sees us, he walks over and says, "I will give you as much time as I can."

Thor smiles and shakes his hand, "Thank you, my friend." He looks to Jane and then leads the way onto the ship. As she passes by, Jane nods to Volstagg gratefully and he smiles.

I simply salute and follow them.

Before entering the ship, I glance over my shoulder to check if Loki is following, only to see him being stopped by Volstagg.

Oh, great. Why does he have to have so many enemies?

"If you even think about betraying him…" the warrior begins, but Loki interrupts, "You'll kill me?"

Isn't Sif already going to do that? Yeah, and Thor too…

"Sorry." I call down to them, "There's gonna be a line for that."

Volstagg looks away and lets him pass. I turn around and walk into the harrow ship. Inside, it's dark and shadowy, so it takes a moment for my eyes to adjust. When they do, I see Jane give me an odd look and assume that they're glowing.

"Wolfness." I say plainly and she nods.

Up ahead, there's a structure jutting out of the ground in a half-circle. Thor walks up to it and stands in the middle. Tilting my head, I stand beside him and realize that the structure is some sort of control panel. With _thousands _of buttons.

I glance at Thor and then gesture to them, "Your guess is as good as mine."

The prince gazes at the panel, hesitating, and then cautiously presses a button. Nothing happens. He presses another one. Nada.

A little frustrated, he presses two or three more, and this time I hear the ship whirring. Unfortunately, it dies away and the ship stays on the ground.

As Thor continues to tap buttons, my spine tingles and I glance over my shoulder. Loki comes up behind his brother and gazes at what he's doing. Narrowing his eyes, the trickster asks, "I thought you said you knew how to fly this thing?"

"I said, "How hard could it be?" Thor replies, pressing buttons harder. He starts pushing all of them, trying desperately to turn the ship on. None of them do anything.

Suddenly, the sound of clattering metal reaches my ears. I look up and pinpoint the sound coming from outside. Apparently I'm not the only one who can hear it, because both Jane and Loki look up too.

Loki turns back and watches Thor skeptically, "Well, whatever you're doing, brother, I suggest you do it faster."

Still pressing buttons, he snaps, "Shut up, Loki."

"They're kinda killing each other out there." I say, jerking my thumb over my shoulder. Thor glances at me quickly before focusing on the buttons again, "Do I need to tell you to shut up as well, Zoey?"

Raising my hands, I duck my head and take a step back.

Loki glances at the other side of the panel. Tapping a button cautiously, he says, "You must have missed something."

"No, I didn't." Thor growls, clearly frustrated, "I'm pressing every button on this thing!" He starts hitting the buttons harder.

Loki steps forward, "No, don't hit it."

I roll my eyes. Why do brothers fight so much?

Deciding to intervene, I squeeze in between the two of them. I brush Thor's hand out of the way, "Here, just-"

I softly tap a random button, "-press it gently."

To my surprise, the dim lights go dark and the harrow ship starts whirring. Then, a bunch of lights turn on and a blue, glowing, hologram map appears and shines all around us.

"_Thank you_, Zoey." Loki drawls, glaring at Thor, who huffs and brushes past me.

As he starts figuring things out, I step back again and look around. The shiny hologram closes in an orb around us, lining the control panel. After a moment, I realize that the hologram is actually a map of the outside world. I peer closely at it, noticing that it even includes the damaged pillars and other rubble. Damn, these elves are actually smart.

All of the sudden, the Wolf starts growling softly. Frowning, I push it away and glance around.

Jane, who's a bit away from us, is leaning against the wall, looking pale. I tilt my head and ask, "You alright Jane?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." she replies, although I can tell by her voice that she is not fine. Before I can do anything, though, Thor presses a button and the ship's engine turns on, humming dramatically.

The ground sways and I feel the hovercraft starting to fly. Thor chuckles in triumph.

I gaze at the hologram as the ship swivels around, its wings knocking down most of the remaining pillars. I wince, hearing the heavy rock and marble break and clatter on the ground in the Throne Room.

Beside me, Loki sighs and looks at Thor, "I think you missed a column."

"Let's try not to destroy the place, please." I add, much to the annoyance of Thor, who snaps, "Shut up!"

The ship fully turns around and then blasts forward, crashing out of the palace. I yelp in surprise and grab onto the side of the panel. A bridge comes rushing towards us, but the Thunder God taps a few buttons and the ship ducks, flying underneath the arches. My grip tightens as the hovercraft continues to flip and spin.

Loki glances at me and then at Thor, "Look, why don't you let me take over? I'm clearly the better pilot."

The prince smiles, still staring at the hologram, "Is that right? Well, out of the two of us, which one can actually fly?"

Despite the alarming situation, I can't help sniggering.

The ship smoothly turns, flying over a bunch of peasants below, who scream and scatter. Suddenly, I hear the sound of guns shooting and the hovercraft rumbles. Glancing at the hologram behind us, I see this weird blaster thing on the palace firing lasers after us.

Thor grunts as a laser clips the wing but continues controlling the ship. In an attempt to escape the guns, he turns the ship vertically and flies through a narrow slip between two buildings. I cling to the panel, but Loki merely chuckles, staring at the hologram excitedly.

The lasers keep firing at us, but thankfully most of them miss.

I jinxed it.

With a loud clatter, one of them crashes into the ship and the whole thing rattles.

Next to me, Loki grunts and stumbling forward a little, but I grab his arm to stop him from falling. He recovers quickly and stands behind me, holding onto the panel.

All of the sudden, I sense something familiar and the Wolf's presence grows stronger, prowling and snarling. My eyes widen. That could only mean-

I whip my head towards Jane just as she collapses onto the ground. Thor and Loki both look over at her. I notice her cheeks are tinged with red.

"Oh, dear." Loki asks, "Is she dead?"

"Jane." Thor says, but remains at the control panel, "Zoey-"

"Yup," I interrupt, and then take a sniff. Nope, no death-scent. But the Aether's smell is definitely stronger. It must be acting up.

Great. I've got the Aether in front of me driving the Wolf crazy, and Loki's magic behind me making my spine tingle.

"She's fine." I report, "The Aether stuff is just being weird."

"How do you know?" Loki inquires suspiciously, "You didn't even check."

"Not now, Loki." Thor says, focusing on the hologram.

Lasers continue to fire at the ship, more occasionally hitting it. The ship rumbles again, this time a few things fall from the ceiling.

Loki and I both duck, and I notice him putting his elbow above my head. A moment later, a chunk of metal clatters on the ground in front of me.

_Hmm, protector, _the Wolf hums, _Nice._

Rolling my eyes, I straighten up, my head bumping into the trickster's arm. He straightens up and I brush myself off, "Thanks, Jailbird!"

Suddenly, Thor accidently clips a building and we all cringe, but quickly recover. Before I can open my mouth to comment, Thor mutters, "Not a word." Hearing more gunfire behind us, I glance back and see three mini Asgardian ships, which look strangely like Thor's helmet, I might add, flying after us.

"They're following us." I say, looking at Thor.

There's a loud screech and the hovercraft shudders violently. Loki ducks, bumping into me in the process and I grab his arm to steady myself.

"Now they're firing at us!" he declares to Thor, moving to his other side.

"With lasers!" I add snidely.

"Yeah, thank you for the commentary, you two, it's not at all distracting!" Thor retorts.

Up ahead, a rocky mountain appears with an arch underneath. Clinging to the panel, I shout, "Mountain!"

"I see it!" Thor shouts, turning the ship so it flies vertically into the arch. Unfortunately, he was a bit late and the wing slices off the top of a statue.

Loki glances out of the holographic window and then says to Thor, "Well done. You just decapitated your grandfather."

The prince glances behind him.

I stifle a snicker.

The archway widens out and Thor straightens the ship, its wing slicing through a column again. It flies over an expanse of water, then spins over the multiple small waterfalls as new pursuers fire at us. The ship gets hit again and I grunt. Thor swivels the ship, and then flies it alongside the Bifrost.

Looking irritated, Loki says, "You know, this is wonderful. This is a tremendous idea." Walking over to his other side, he continues, "Let's steal the biggest, most obvious ship in the universe and escape in _that_."

I sigh, leaning against the panel and watching as the trickster rants on, "Flying around the city, smashing into everything in sight so everyone can see us."

Thor clicks a button, and suddenly a door opens on the side of the ship.

"It's brilliant, Thor!" Loki snarls, "It's truly brilliant!"

Thor glances at me and I nod. Grabbing Loki's collar, I pull him towards the door and push him off the ship.

"Be free, birdy!" I yell as he screams, falling towards one of the mini Asgard ships below. He crashes onto it and I look back at the Thunder God, who puts the hovercraft on autopilot and steps back. He turns around, picks up Jane in bride-style, and then summons Mjolnir into one hand.

Hmm…. he looks a little full-handed.

"Zoey." Thor turns to me, but I shake my head vigorously, "I ain't jumping off this ship by myself!"

Walking towards him, I let my claws grow and cling onto his billowing red cape. He grunts, but then straightens up and leaps into the air.

I squeeze my eyes shut as the wind whips past me, making the cape flutter into my face. Before I know it, Thor lands heavily on the mini ship next to Fandral, who's laughing at Loki on the floor.

Grunting, I sheath my claws and hop off of the god.

"I see your time in the dungeons has made you no less graceful, Loki." Fandral huffs, watching said trickster as he clambers to his feet, looking flustered.

Above us, the rival mini hovercrafts are still firing at the harrow ship. Thor gently puts Jane down on a bench. I sniff, still smelling and feeling the Aether bubbling inside of her.

"You lied to me." Loki says to Thor. I tense up. Oh great, is he going to start a fight again?

Thankfully, just he tilts his chin up a bit and admits, "I'm impressed." The God of Lies turns to me and asks, "I'm assuming this was your crazy idea?"

I straighten up and reply, "_Actually, _it was Sif's."

"Of course." the trickster looks back at Thor, who has turned to him.

"Now, do as you promised and take us to your secret pathway." the Thunder God orders.

Grinning, Loki brushes past me and grabs a golden rod sticking out of the ground. He pushes it forward, and the ship goes faster. It skims the water, making it splash and stir. He turns the rod and the ship swivels, veering off towards a group of mountains in the distance.

I glance behind us and see one other mini ship flying after us, "Incoming!"

The ship starts firing, and Loki moves our hovercraft so it dodges lasers. When that doesn't seem to work, he looks over his shoulder and makes the ship rise into the air.

"Fandral." Thor says to the other blonde. Fandral nods, "Right."

The Asgardian then grabs a rope on the floor and steps onto the edge of the ship. After a pause, he says, "For Asgard." before jumping into the air. I watch as the rope swings him onto the mini ship and then mutter, "Laser."

Immediately, the laser pops out of my collar and the sniper glass positions itself in front of my left eye. I aim at the rope, "Shoot." My collar blasts the rope and it snaps. I glance at Fandral, who's already on the other ship, and he salutes.

Looking back at Loki, I watch as he guides the hovercraft towards the mountain. Like, straight towards it.

"Loki…" Thor says warningly.

"If it were easy, everyone would do it."

I look at the trickster and see his eyes fixed on something ahead. Following his gaze, I spot a narrow crevice in the rocky mass.

Uh oh

As we get closer, Thor glances back at Loki, "Are you mad?"

"Possibly." his brother replies.

Thor turns back to the mountain and then holds onto Jane, who's still unconscious. I wince, and then take a seat on the bench. Hell no am I standing up!

The ship flies straight into the crack and I inhale sharply. It scrapes the edges of the fissure and I flinch. Suddenly, multicolored lights appear and grab the vessel like tentacles. I feel a pull and close my eyes.

There's the sound of rushing, and then new scents reach my nose. Musky, rocky, metallic, sour…

I open my eyes.

"Ta da!" Loki says as the ship bounces once on rough gravel before regaining flight again.

**R&R!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	9. Chapter 9

**The title of this chapter is from The Rasmus 'Dead Promises'**

**I only own my characters**

Chapter Nine

World of dust and blood

You know, I can see why it's called the Dark World.

For one thing, everything is… well… _dark. _The ground is full of chunks of harsh rocks that are black or grey, and I can even see some shards of metal. Must be from an older battle. Beyond the stretch of dark land, a bunch of jagged mountains line the horizon. So far, I haven't seen any carnivorous plants or animals, so that's good. I _think. _

The coolest part about this realm's appearance is the black sun in the sky. I think it might be an eclipse, but the difference is that I can actually look at it without going blind. Trust me, I've tried it on Earth…. ouch- not a good idea.

Another thing that kinda makes this place seem more evil is its scent. One, it _reeks _of Dark Elves and two, it smells like old-water-in-a-puddle, musky, metallic, sour, rocky, and all this other disgusting stuff.

Bleh.

…..

Well, at least _one _good thing can come out of this.

Smiling, I turn around on the bench and prop my upper half on the side of the ship with my arms. Then, I stick my head out into the wind like a dog. Remember when I did this last year on the way to the Helicarrier?

Ahh, good times.

The ship slows down a bit, soaring at cruising speed, and I laugh, the breeze weaving through my pony-tailed hair like water. As we fly, I notice that we're approaching a sort of… city, I guess. It's made up of rundown building-like things that look abandoned and half-destroyed.

I narrow my eyes, gazing a particularly strange one. If I'm not mistaken, that happens to be a… ship. A hovercraft, totally wrecked and demolished.

Oh.

Lovely.

As we enter the city, I notice more and more of the destroyed ships. And- oh wow, geez, that one looks like it's been ripped in half!

_Bad place, _the Wolf growls in my head. I roll my eyes, _Ya think? This place practically screams evil._

_You should never have left Earth, _it replies, _If you had just listened to me and stayed away from the portal, we wouldn't even be in this mess. But no, you had to follow your puppy curiosity. _

_Hey, I'm not a pup! _I retort, frowning a little, _I'm a teenager. Hmm, what do they call teenaged wolves? Like, teenolves? Teen wolves? Ha, Teen Wolf. Good show._

The Wolf huffs and scoffs, _Humans! If you think you're so mature, then act like it._

_Hmph! _I wrinkle my nose, _Meanie. _

There's a pause, in which I let out a sigh of relief and continue gazing at the land below. Soon, though, the silence becomes really awkward, so I ask, _Have anything else useful to say to me?_

_Don't let your guard down around the Aether, _the Wolf says immediately. I turn around and gaze at Jane, who's still unconscious on the other bench. Thor is covering her with his cloak with a worried look on his face. She stirs a little, but her boyfriend puts a hand on her head and she falls back asleep.

I hesitate, but then cautiously crawl across the bench towards her. As I do, the feeling of unease grows stronger and my skin starts prickling. Curse my stupid sixth sense.

Thor backs away from Jane a bit as I get closer, watching me anxiously. I loom over the astrophysicist, eyeing her frail frame suspiciously. The rancid scent of the Aether fills my nose, so thick that I nearly gag.

It's getting stronger.

I narrow my sharp, wolf-like eyes and analyze her. Occasionally, I spot a rush of red stuff flash beneath her skin before disappearing as soon as it comes. It's so quick that any normal person might not notice it, but, with my enhanced eyes, I do.

The Wolf growls quietly, and I have to resist growling with it. This stuff is bad- _really _bad. Nothing good will come out of it, no matter what Malekith thinks.

"How is she?"

I glance up at Thor's question. The Thunder God is gazing down at me with troubled eyes, clearly distressed.

Sighing, I rock back on my haunches and glance at Jane, "Well, she's not dead yet."

"Yet?" Thor knits his eyebrows. I look up at him and reply slowly, "Yet. The Aether… it's getting stronger."

At his aghast expression, I add quickly, "But she's not going to die soon! I mean, she _will _eventually, if this stuff stays inside of her, but she can probably live for a few more days. The Aether's most likely just having a phase."

Looking slightly relieved, Thor nods and strokes Jane's hair. I note the way he's gazing at her and decide to leave the two lovers alone.

Rolling my eyes, I crawl back over to my original spot on the bench and sit Indian Style. After a few moments, I notice a certain trickster staring at me and glance over at him.

Loki, who's kneeling beside the control stick, is giving me an analyzing look. I meet his gaze, and when he doesn't say anything, I raise my eyebrows questioningly.

The Sly One smirks, a mischievous look on his face, and says, "You said you were a mutant."

"Uh huh." I nod, "What about it, Jailbird?"

Loki gestures to Jane with one hand and then suggests, "Care to explain your powers?"

I pause, and then say slowly, "Well…. I'm a mutant…." At the 'really' look that he gives me, I continue, "A wolf mutant. I'm part wolf. And I'm guessing I have a sixth sense like canines do." I add, glancing over at Jane.

With a curious, but dangerous, expression on his face, Loki asks, "So, you can sense the Aether?"

I jerk my head and his smirk grows bigger. Trying not to be disturbed by that, I add, "I can also feel your magic."

"Is that so?" he says, arching an eyebrow. At my nod, he then asks, "And does it feel good?"

I stare at him blankly.

….

….

What kind of question is _that_?!

But his voice holds no regret or embarrassment, only regal confidence. He doesn't look terribly curious about this, as if he doesn't care about the question and just wants to see my reaction.

Okaaaay, um, creeper much?

Scratching the back of my neck, I reply clumsily, "Um… I guess?"

Loki gives me a look that urges me on, so I continue, glancing around awkwardly, "I mean…. it kinda just tingles. Like, it makes my spine feel weird and… stuff…." I pause, staring down at my fingernails, and then scowl at him and kick his leg gently, "Stop asking weird questions, Jailbird. It makes you seem like a creeper."

The Sly One opens his mouth, probably to ask what a creeper is, but before he can say anything, Jane lets out a small grunt. We all look over at her, watching as she shifts a little, but then falls back into unconsciousness.

Narrowing my eyes, I take a sniff and sigh with relief. The Aether's scent isn't as strong anymore.

Beside me, Loki gazes at her and sighs, "What I could do with the power that flows through those veins."

I glare at him, instantly feeling protective of Jane. Hey, she's part of my Pack too, and you ain't doing nothing to her, buddy.

Thor, who's still beside his girlfriend, turns around and looks at Loki, "It would consume you." His voice sounds tired as he sits down next to Jane.

"She's holding up alright." his brother says, glancing at the astrophysicist, "For now."

"She's strong in ways you'd never even know."

Bam. Epic god wisdom words right there.

_Strength isn't always physical, _the Wolf rumbles in my mind, _You must also be emotionally strong. Or have a strong heart._

_Nice, _I say, _It's like a wisdom party here. _

I jerk back to attention as Loki sneers at Thor, "Say goodbye."

The Thunder God glances at Jane and says, "Not this day."

"This day, the next, a hundred years- it's nothing." the trickster quips, standing up, "It's a heartbeat. You'll never be ready. The only woman whose love you've prized will be snatched away from you."

I blink in surprise, sensing a brotherly argument approaching.

Thor looks down, and then up at Loki, "And will that satisfy you?"

"Satisfaction is not in my nature." the Sly One replies.

"Surrender is not in mine." Thor retorts and my lip quivers as I try not to smirk. Dude, he so pwned him!

There's a long pause, in which the tension is so thick that I can practically feel it. I glance to and fro from the two brothers, waiting for their next move.

Of course, being the smartass that he is, Loki speaks first, smiling, "The son of Odin…"

"No." Thor protests immediately, standing up, "Not just of Odin. Of Frigga, too. She tried to prevent you from spending eternity in chains, but your snarky words crushed all hope of that happening."

Narrowing his eyes, Loki hisses, "And who's side did you take? Hers, or your dear Odin's?"

"I had no say in it." Thor replies, his voice rising, "I was not going to send my brother to prison, but I was not going to let you escape your cells by begging for freedom you did not deserve!"

The God of Lies scoffs, "You're pathetic, brother. Too weak to even admit it. Who put me there?" When Thor doesn't reply immediately, he yells, "Who put me there?!"

Suddenly, Thor lunges forward and grabs Loki, "You know damn well!" The God of Thunder pins him up against the side of the ship. The trickster tries to push him off, but his brother shoves him back, "You know damn well who!"

Loki grunts and I flinch as Thor raises a fist. Okay, you know what? This is getting a bit intense.

Deciding to intervene, I call out, "Hey, guys. Your mother wouldn't be too happy if she found out you were fighting."

Thor doesn't take his gaze off of his brother, keeping him pinned against the ship. Meanwhile, Loki looks at me and says, "Well, she wouldn't exactly be shocked." He smiles a little and I roll my eyes.

Thor humorlessly chuckles, still looking at the trickster, and says with sorrow, "I wish I could trust you."

I mentally wince. Ouch.

The Thunder God turns away and walks towards Jane. I watch as Loki slowly picks himself up, as if stunned, and stares after his brother. Then, his eyes narrow and he says with quiet venom, "Trust my rage."

I shudder.

* * *

Madison's POV

I stand behind Darcy, peeking nervously over her shoulder at the man behind the desk. We're at the England Police station along with Ian, doing something extremely illegal.

Just for the record, I was all against this plan. It was Darcy's idea to have Ian pretend to be Erik's son so we can get him out. We had to change and add stuff to his ID and everything. They didn't listen to my warnings no matter what I said, and now here we are.

Breaking the law.

In a police station.

My stomach churns anxiously as the desk man takes out some papers.

"You'll have to sign for your father's belongings, ." he says with a British accent. Darcy nudges Ian, who is looking around anxiously. The intern's intern jerks in surprise and stammers, "What?"

The man points to the papers and Ian's eyes widen, "Oh, yeah! My father, Dr. Erik Selvig." With a shaky hand, he grabs a pen and signs the papers.

Meanwhile, the desk man takes out something and puts it on the desk, "One man's leather wallet, brown. One key ring, three keys. Prescription medicine…" he plops a large bag of pills, giving us a look, "Various." The man bends down and retrieves a scientific object.

In front of me, Darcy turns and walks away. I gaze after her and notice a bedraggled man being led down a hallway by a police man.

"Erik." she calls out to him. I wince. This guy is _Erik_? The 'genius'?

Darcy waves her arms as the man is led closer, "Erik!"

'Erik' gives her a confused look. I mentally groan. We're doomed.

"Yes?" Erik asks, his eyes unfocused.

After glancing at me, Darcy points to herself and says, "It's, uh, Darcy. And Madison- I told you about her, right?"

Completely ignoring me, Erik gasps, "Darcy." She smiles and waves as he walks closer.

"So good to see you." he says, hugging her tightly. The intern pats his back, looking awkward, and says, "Oh, I missed you too."

"How did you find me?" he asks. I scratch my neck and reply, "You were kinda running nude on TV." At the look he gives me, I add, "Don't worry, they censored your business!"

"Okay, time to go, lots to do!" Darcy interrupts quickly, trying to pull away from Erik. He doesn't let her go. I glance around awkwardly and Darcy mumbles, "...Getting weird now."

After a few moments, she looks at me desperately and I walk over to them. With the help of Ian, we manage to peel Erik off of Darcy, who lets out a sigh of relief. Then, we exit the room and walk down a fancy-looking hallway.

Behind me, Ian is carrying some large science sticks that scrape the walls as he walks. The intern's intern fumbles with them, trying to hold them in a way so they won't cause damage. I think about helping him, but then Darcy's voice drags my attention away.

"I should not be left in charge of stuff like this." She says, making gestures with her hands, "I don't get paid enough. I don't get paid, period."

I look back at Ian and see him struggling with the large bag of pills. Sighing, I take them from him and then hand them to Erik. Jane's mentor tries to open them, but the bag slips from his hands and crashes onto the floor. I flinch at the sound and he picks it up.

Deciding to make myself noticed, I say, "I'm Madison, by the way. This is Ian, Darcy's intern." I jerk my thumb over my shoulder to said intern.

Erik doesn't answer and simply opens a pill bottle.

Trying to catch up, Ian asks, "Are you all right?"

"I've had a god in my brain." the scientist grunts immediately, then puts the bottle to his lips and swallows all of the pills. My eyes widen as he walks ahead, saying, "I don't recommend it."

Ian and I glance at each other. He shrugs, and all of the sudden, the scientific equipment in his hands starts beeping. The intern jerks in surprise and looks at me with wide eyes. I frown at the beeping sticks, and then say, "I think it's trying to tell us something."

Without replying, Ian runs past me. I follow him outside and call out, "Hey, the science stuff is beeping at us! Guys?"

Erik looks up at the sky, "It's happening. It's sooner than I calculated."

"What's going on?" I ask, the cold breeze of England making me shiver. Erik doesn't reply and simply stops, staring at the sky. I follow his gaze and see a large flock of birds flying.

"Birds?" Darcy asks skeptically, "Birds are happening?"

"They're starlings." Ian says behind us, a happy expression on his face, "It's called a murmuration. My dad, he used to take me bird watching as a kid."

Darcy rolls her eyes and snorts, "Nerd."

I nudge her side, "Don't be rude!"

Before she can reply, Erik's eyes widen and he exclaims, "Look!"

The flock of starlings circle around in a loop and then suddenly disappear. I blink in surprise.

"Where'd they go?" Darcy asks. We all look around, confused. The place sounds really quiet and eerie without the birds chirping.

Suddenly, the ground underneath me feels mushy and hundreds of black birds come swarming past us. I scream, swatting the starlings away as they continue to fly up from the ground. Finally, after what seems like forever, they stop coming and fly into the sky. I glance up as the flock ascends into the blue and fades away.

Next to me, Darcy whimpers and looks around, still shaken. I try to calm my rabbiting heart as I turn to Erik, who's acting as if this is completely normal.

"What the hell was that?!" Darcy and I both exclaim at the same time.

Erik tears his gaze away from the sky and looks at us. I gape. He's _smiling. Smiling!_ Okay, this guy is completely nuts!

"Why are you smiling?" Darcy asks, fixing her disheveled hair. In between us, Ian looks like he's just seen the ghost of Satan.

Erik glances at the pill bottle in his hand, and then at us, "There's nothing more reassuring than realizing that the world is crazier than you are." He puts the bottle back in the bag and walks away, "Take me to Jane's lab."

We follow him, and I don't notice what he's about to do until it's too late. "Wait-!" I protest, but he tosses the pill bag into a trash can and continues onward.

Ian and I both stop dead in our tracks. Once again, we glance at each other, and I whisper, "Can you believe this guy?"

The intern sighs and says, "Well, Darcy trusts him, so he must know what he's doing. Sort of." he glances at the trash can.

Meanwhile, I gaze after Darcy and Erik. The scientist stumbles on the way to the car, and then tries going through the window to get into it.

My shoulders sag and I moan miserably, "We're doomed."

**Oh. My. Flipping. God. Did anyone else see the Avengers: Age of Ultron trailer?! Mind=Blown! **

**Yesterday I started watching BBC Sherlock and OH MY GAWD IT IS SO FLIPPING AMAZING! **

**If you have seen either of these two things, comment _please. _**

**And if you haven't... go watch them right now, you aren't living. **

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hope y'all had a happy Halloween! I didn't go Trick-or-Treating because... I'm too lazy to walk, BUT I still had a lot of left over candy since not many kids were Trick-or-Treating in my neighborhood. Unfortunately, all of those damn kids took my Kit Kats... **

**The title of this chapter is from Breaking Benjamin 'I Will Not Bow'**

**I think you all know by now that I don't own Marvel**

Chapter Ten

Now the dark begins to rise

_Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. _I stare up at the grey cloudy sky above as the ship soars through the Dark World. After the little brotherly fight between Thor and Loki, an awkward silence fell over us that I didn't know how to break. So, naturally, I got _really _bored. And now, I'm lounging on the bench lazily, my elbows on the edge of the ship and my head tilted backwards up towards the sky.

Nearby, Loki watches me out of the corner of his eyes. I consider my position, but then just shrug it off.

Sure, I'm exposing my throat right next to a mass murderer, but what's the worst he can do? Kill me? Phh, yeah right, I'd like to see him try!

_Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. _I continue to repeat in my mind, bobbing my head every time I think her name. I've been trying to contact her for a while now. I know I couldn't talk to her on Asgard, but now I'm on Svartalfheim (it took me forever to learn how to say that) which is a whole different realm. For all I know, it could be closer to Earth than Asgard is.

_Madison. Madison. Madison._

I haven't gotten a reply.

_Madison. Madison. Madison._

I gave up hope a while ago, actually. Now I'm just saying her name out of boredom. Who knows, maybe my annoying thoughts will cut through time and space and she'll hear me?

_Madison. Madison. Ma-_ My thinking is cut off by the Wolf snarling in my mind, _Will you shut it? She can't hear you!_

_Why don't you- wait, you can hear me when I'm talking to her? _I ask, knitting my eyebrows. The Wolf rolls its imaginary eyes and replies, _You're not talking to her. You're talking to yourself._

_So, you can hear my personal thoughts? _I counter, _Creeper._

_Well, when you keep on repeating the same word over and over! _it retorts, and then goes back to sulking at the edge of my mind.

I pause for a moment, and then start bobbing my head again and continue, _Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison. Madison._

The Wolf groans.

"What _are _you doing?"

My thoughts are interrupted once more, but this time by Loki. I pull my head up and look at the trickster, "Trying to talk to my sister. Now hush. I need to think through the fabrics of the Yggdrasil to reach her."

Thor, who's still sitting next to Jane, perks up and asks, "Madison. Can you contact her?"

"Well, I'm _trying._" I reply, "But so far, I've got zilch. That means nothing."

The God of Thunder nods and turns back to Jane. I'm about to continue with my mental phone call when I notice Loki staring at me. Again.

Can't this guy keep his eyes to himself?

"Who's Madison?" the Sly One asks. I sit up and answer, "She's my sister." I hesitate, and then correct myself, "Well, step-sister. I'm adopted."

An odd look flashes in his eyes for half a moment, but then Loki asks, "If you aren't related, then how can communicate telepathically? Thor and I aren't blood brothers, and we cannot do that."

I frown and tilt my head, "You and Thor aren't related?"

"No." Loki growls, the tone of his voice saying not to pursue this conversation. Meanwhile, his brother glances over at us and says, "I've mentioned this before, Lady Zoey."

I roll my eyes and sigh, "I need to pay more attention to what you say."

"Don't." Loki says immediately, "I promise, it won't do you any good."

Thor glares at him.

"Answer my question." the trickster demands, and I remember what he asked. "Alright then, bossy." I grumble, and then explain, "First, I told you I'm a wolf mutant, right?"

He nods and I continue, "So, when I was born, my stupid parents sold me to some science lab where scientists did all this crap on me and made me a mutant. Yeah? Okay, so, this military dude named Mason got me out of there and sort of adopted me into his family, which is basically Madison and her mother. Then, like, almost eight years later he shows up again and tells me all this random stuff about my powers. And I'm just like 'dude, kinda late for that'! I mean, talk about keeping secrets! Anyway, then all this stuff happened with the Avengers and- wait, you know what? I'm getting off-track here. Main point, he told me that Madison and I have a 'special connection' because when I first met her I was ready for a 'subject'. Not really sure what all that meant, but there's your answer."

By the time I finish my explanation, Loki has a strange expression on his face. It kinda looks like he's remembering something. I glance over at Thor and see him wearing the same look, only less intense.

After a moment, it dawns on me and I glance back at Loki, "You got daddy problems too, Jailbird?"

The trickster jerks back to reality and narrows his eyes at me, "That's none of your business." He turns away and gazes out into the distance.

I'll take that as a yes.

"Same here." I say, leaning back, "Only I don't really consider him my dad." He gives me a sharp look and I add, "I mean, I never really talked to him much, and he's kinda like my boss, ya know? It's also really awkward between us whenever we do talk, so I just leave all the daddy socializing to Madison."

"And you don't feel any anger towards him," Loki asks, his eyes inquisitive, "for keeping the truth about your abilities from you?"

I glance at the sky, pondering for a moment, and then say, "Well, I already knew that I was different, and I had memories of the science lab. But, yeah, of course I _did_ feel a little betrayed that he didn't tell me everything." Shaking my head, I look at him and say, "Whatever. That was then. Focus on the future, not the past."

The Sly One simply replies with a thoughtful, "Hmm." He turns back around and continues gazing at the land around us. Although, from the way his eyebrows are knitted and eyes are focused, I can tell that he's contemplating something.

Tilting my head, I scoot a bit closer to his kneeling position near the control stick and ask, "What are you thinking about, Jailbird?"

He doesn't answer right away. After a few moments of silence, I assume that he's not going to reply and just ignore me, but then he lets out a sigh.

Eyes still gazing out, Loki says slowly, "I'm thinking… that we're close to our destination."

I look up and finally notice our surroundings. It looks like we've gone deeper into the hovercraft graveyard, but now they're positioned so it seems like a city. Large metal structures lean over us, looking jagged and half-destroyed.

Beside me, Loki glances over his shoulder. I follow his gaze and see Jane has finally woken up. Hmm… something's off. Peering closely at her face, I notice her eyes are dark, with a crimson red glint in them.

I growl quietly. The Aether.

"Jane." Thor says, starting towards her. The astrophysicist ignores him and instead lifts herself up and looks over the ship's edge. She stares up at the sky, and I notice a large hovercraft emerging from the clouds. Uh oh.

So quiet that I can barely hear it, Jane murmurs, "Malekith."

I mentally groan. Ugh, not that white dingus again.

"We should land." Thor says loudly, looking at Loki. The trickster stands up and grips the control stick again, "Where?"

I look around, and then point to the land below us, "How 'bout behind that hill over there? So we can have the Element of Surprise?"

Loki nods and pushes the stick. The ship turns smoothly towards a group of hills on our left. As we fly, Jane stumbles to her feet and Thor puts a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

I frown, glaring at the blackness filling her eyes. Sniffing, I growl softly as the Aether's scent reaches my nose. My skin prickles uncomfortably and I give a very wolf-like shake of my head, making my ponytail flap around.

Wrinkling my nose, I move away from her and stand next to Loki. That doesn't help at all. The aura of magic around him makes my spine tingle and I grit my teeth, feeling frustrated.

Can't I feel normal for just five minutes?

Loki guides the ship down behind the hills and lands it gently in a valley. Thor jumps off first, and then turns to help Jane. Loki glances at me and I roll my eyes. Brushing past him, I leap off of the edge of the ship and land on my two feet.

The ground beneath me is basically just a landfill of pebbles, crushed rock, and some shards of metal. Yikes, better avoid those.

Soon, we're all off of the hovercraft and gazing at the land around us.

"What's the plan?" Jane asks after a pause. Thor glances at her, and then admits, "I never planned this part."

"Wonderful." I huff. Jane shrugs, suddenly looking small, and says, "Well, we can't just walk up to Malekith and ask him to take the Aether out of me."

"Yeah," I nod, and then perk up, "Well, maybe we can approach him like we're going to fight, and then…. something _happens_."

They all give me 'seriously?' look and I grin sheepishly, "Just a suggestion. Got any better ideas?"

We all fall silent, trying to think of a plan. Unfortunately, brainstorming isn't one of my specialties. Soon, my mind starts travelling to other irrelevant things, and I give myself a sharp jerk of my head to get focused again.

Jane hums and suggests, "Uh, I could 'wander' over there and pretend to be lost. I mean, if I have something as powerful as the Aether then it wouldn't be so surprising that I could find a portal to transport me here."

"No." Thor protests immediately, shaking his head, "We would have to be out of sight and far away to pull that off. If Malekith were to hurt you, then I may not be there in time…"

"Yeah, I guess so." she sighs, looking down.

I frown and scratch the back of my head. Hmm…. we need a plan to fool a Dark Elf…. a really white Dark Elf…. hmm…

Well, I've got nothing.

_So, Wolf, _I say in my head, _Got any of your genius plans? _

The Wolf huffs and peeks into my consciousness. Growling lowly, it rumbles, _The prisoner._

_Who? _I raise an eyebrow and glance at Loki, _You mean Jailbird? What can _he _do? Well, I guess he does have magic and all-_

_Use his villainous reputation to your advantage, _the Wolf interrupts, seeming impatient.

I pause, processing what it means, and then my eyes widen, _Ohhhhh, that's actually a good idea! _

The Wolf rolls its imaginary eyes and huffs again. Turning to the others, I gesture to Loki and say, "He can pretend to betray us."

They all look at me. Thor frowns, "Betray us?"

"_Pretend_." I emphasise.

Thor and Loki glance at each other, and then the God of Thunder nods, "That could work. We've done something similar before."

"Yes, and it nearly got us killed." Loki sneers. I shake my head, making a mental note to ask about that little adventure later.

"So, we go up to, like, the top of the hill," I say, "And then Jailbird starts fighting us, or something like that."

"You'll need to neutralize me if Malekith is going to remove the Aether from Lady Jane." Thor adds, looking at his brother. The Sly One smirks, "Cutting off your hand should suffice."

Awkward silence.

….

"Anyway," I drawl, shifting my weight uncomfortably, "Then Loki can do something to Jane, or like, give her to Malekith?" They all look at me and I say, "Just try to show that you're kind of on his side, but not so much that you're going to help him with all the dark stuff."

"Of course." Loki says, still smirking. He opens his mouth to continue, but before he can say anything, the ground suddenly rumbles. I hiss and spread my arms to keep balance. The shaking continues for a few moments, and then stops.

We all straighten up and look at each other.

"That's our cue." I announce, turning towards the hill. Thor nods and says, "Malekith must've landed his ship." he leads the way up the hill, "We have no time to lose."

Jane follows him, looking a little shaky. I frown and sniff the air, hoping the Aether's not acting up again. The harsh, metallic scent reaches my nose, but it's not any stronger than it was before. This time, fear-scent is laced with it, rolling off her in waves.

I let out a sigh of relief. Good. Sort of. Better than the Aether, at least.

The back of my neck prickles and I glance to my left to see Loki staring at me. I raise an eyebrow and gesture to the hill, "Ladies first."

He rolls his eyes and starts up the slope. Grinning, I follow him and trot to his side. The wind starts to pick up as we climb higher, whistling creepily in my ears. My Asgardian toga thing flutters in the breeze and I flinch as little bits of rock and metal hit my legs.

Finally, we reach the top of the hill and gaze down at the land below us. Malekith's ship has landed at the edge of a large valley, and, with my enhanced eyes, I can see Dark Elves emerging from it. Although, I don't think anyone needs enhanced eyes to see the white snowflake in the midst of them.

"Alright." Thor says, watching the group, "Are you ready?"

Jane and I both nod. Next to me, Loki says, "I am." Thor gives him a look and then steps forward a bit, eyes on the Dark Elves.

Loki glances at me and asks sarcastically, "You know this plan of yours is going to get us killed?"

"Yeah, probably." I shrug casually. He gives a judgemental huff and moves next to Thor. Silently, he holds up his cuffed wrists, looking at him expectantly. Thor hesitates.

"You _still _don't trust me, brother?" Loki sneers. Thor glances at him and asks, "Would you?" Without waiting for a reply, he unlocks the handcuffs. Once free from the restrains, Loki lowers his hands and rubs his wrists.

I notice a flash of green in his right hand and see him holding a dagger. My eyes widen, but before I can do anything, he mutters, "No, I wouldn't." and stabs Thor. The God of Thunder grunts in pain and Loki throws him down the hill.

"Thor!" Jane and I both yell. Suddenly, Loki whirls around and grabs me roughly by my shoulders. I yelp in shock and he shoves me off my feet, tossing me down the hill. Hissing, I unsheathe my claws and scrabble as I continue to tumble. The rocks and metal shards dig into any bare skin they can find, and I mentally thank Sif for lending me some battle armor.

Finally, I manage to roll onto my belly and dig my claws into the ground. As I slide to a stop, I hear Loki's voice echo, "You really think I cared about Frigga? About any of you?"

I whip my head to the side and see the Sly One stalking towards Thor. I'm about to go attack him when the Wolf barks in my mind, _Wait!_

Its voice causes me to hesitate and I watch as Loki kicks his brother in the face. I flinch, but notice that Thor reacted a bit late.

My eyes widen and I let out a quiet sigh of relief. Good, he's sticking with the plan. Damn, they're good actors!

White flashes at the edge of my vision and I glance over to see Malekith walking closer. Ignoring him, Loki continues ranting to his brother, "All I ever wanted was you and Odin dead at my feet!"

Groaning, Thor raises an arm and tries to summon Mjolnir. As the hammer comes flying to him, Loki lunges forward and slices his hand off with his dagger. This time, I notice the blood coming too early, and _way _too dramatically.

Still, Thor yells in pain and cradles his handless arm to his chest. Jane rushes to his side, and then looks up at me.

"Zoey, help!" she cries out and I feel my heart lurch. Uh oh! She thinks this is real!

Malekith glances at me and I reluctantly scramble to my feet, trying to look a little injured. Loki turns to me and gives a flick of his wrist. Suddenly, black vines appear and wrap around my hands and feet, sending me crashing to the floor.

Grunting, I look up and watch as the trickster roughly grabs Jane by her midsection and lifts her up. Jane struggles, but he pins her to his side and drags her forward.

"Malekith!" he shouts, "I am Loki of Jotunheim, and I bring you a gift!" I frown in confusion. Jotunheim? Isn't that the land of those frosty guys that Thor was once rambling about?

I make a mental note to bring that up later as Loki throws Jane at Malekith's feet. She looks up at him, her dark eyes glinting with fear.

"I ask only one thing return." Loki says, and arm raised, "A good seat from which to watch Asgard burn."

Acting, acting, acting, acting, acting. I repeat the word in my head, praying to whatever god that can hear me for it to be true.

The big, rock-like elf from earlier (I thought I killed him!), who I now know as Kurse, mutters something to Malekith. The lead Dark Elf remains emotionless, assessing the God of Mischief in front of him. Without a word, he walks towards Thor and growls, "Look at me."

With his foot, he kicks Thor so he's on his back. Malekith then gives me a long look, and I resist a shudder. Turning away, the Dark Elf raises an arm. At the same time, Jane starts levitating in the air. I inhale sharply and watch as Malekith starts to draw the Aether from her. It twirls in the air, vile and evil-smelling.

This time, I'm ready for the Wolf's freak attack. It jerks around in my head, snarling, _Let me out! Let me out! Time to morph! Time to kill!_

_Time to shut the hell up! _I retort, grabbing its presence in imaginary hands and shoving it back down. It tries to push its way back up, and I feel my snout grow longer for a split second. Growling with determination, I push it down with all my might and look up.

Now, all of the Aether is suspended in the air, flicking and twisting eerily. Jane drops to the ground with a thud. For a moment, a heavy silence falls between us.

Then, Thor shouts, "Loki! Now!"

Suddenly, his hand reappears and the vines around me vanish. Thor summons Mjolnir and lashes out at the Aether. Lightning erupts from his hammer and strikes the dark magic.

Sensing the danger coming, I scramble to my feet and rush towards Jane, who has the least armor on her. I fling myself on top of her, shielding her from the sparks of electricity flying.

I feel a heavy weight on my upper back and my spine tingles. Loki. The trickster is forcing me lower to the ground, his arm next to mine and his armored torso shielding my face, as well as Jane. Peeking out from under his chest, I watch the scene before us.

Thor's lightning is still shocking the Aether, to no avail. The electricity only forms a white circle around it. With a blinding flash, the ball contracts and then explodes.

I squeeze my eyes shut and the pressure on my shoulders increases as Loki cringes. A fragment of red stone cuts my nose and I swallow a yelp. Finally, the shards stop flying and I open my eyes.

Altogether, the Aether-stones slowly rise into the air. Thor glances at them and frowns, breathing heavily. Above me, Loki shifts as he eyes them warily. They turn into sand-like particles and then suddenly rush towards Malekith, flooding into his mouth, eyes, and nose as he screams. I wince. Gross.

When Malekith opens his eyes again, they're black and red, like Jane's were. Uh oh.

Giving Kurse a sharp look, the lead Dark Elf turns around and stalks back towards the ship. A group of elves start towards us and Loki rises to his feet, pulling me up as well. Jane stands, but stumbles, so I grab her arm and yank her behind me.

"Go." I mutter, "Run!"

Obeying me, she turns around and flees.

As the elves get closer, Thor swings his hammer and whacks them aside. I move to help him, but stop as Kurse glances back at us and tosses something over his shoulder.

I narrow my eyes in confusion, and all of the sudden a hand grabs my SHIELD collar and yanks me back. I yelp as Loki pushes me behind him and I fall to the floor. He moves as if to dive onto me, but suddenly a black hole bursts open in the air and sucks him back.

The trickster grunts as he's lifted into the air, trying to get back onto the ground but failing. I scramble to my feet, my heart rabbiting as I watch him get closer and closer to the hole.

Without a second thought, I let myself morph into my wolf form and leap. I haven't morphed since the battle in the prisons, but I never noticed how much I've grown over the year. My now bigger and stronger legs push me into the air with such force that I collide with Loki harder than intended.

Grunting, I grab his scruff in my jaws as we fall back onto the ground. I land on my four paws with a thud, but don't let go of Loki. The wind from the black hole is still tugging at my fur, but I'm too heavy to be sucked into the air.

Abruptly, the pulling stops and I let go of the trickster. He drops to the ground and his knife clatters before disappearing in a flash of magic. The trickster looks up at me, dazed. Confusion passes over his face and he whispers, "Fenrir?"

I frown. Who is this 'Fenrir' he keeps talking about? Hmm, could it be that other wolf I saw with him in my dream?

Deciding that this isn't the best time for questions, I morph back into my human form and hold out a hand. Loki looks disappointed for a moment, but then grabs my hand. As I pull him up, he mutters, "Wolf mutant. Right."

Suddenly, Malekith's ship starts humming as it prepares to leave. Nearby, Thor flies over to the elves walking onto the ship. Before he can do anything, Kurse whirls around and whacks him back.

The God of Thunder crashes onto the ground and Kurse stalks towards him. The Dark Elf punches him again, sending him tumbling farther away.

Meanwhile, Malekith's ship leaves, but I notice a bunch of Dark Elves staying behind and charging towards Loki and I. Glancing to my left, I see more elves approaching us. Gathering together, they all form a circle around us and raise their weapons.

I slowly back away, not taking my eyes off of them. I search for the familiar tingling feeling of Loki's magic and follow it to him.

Soon, we're back to back, eyeing the Dark Elves surrounding us. Quietly, I take out the daggers that I stole from the guards when Thor and I went to the Asgardian prison. Reaching behind me, I silently pass one to Loki.

Thor never gave him a weapon.

The trickster takes it without a word. The Dark Elves continue to circle us. I wait, my muscles taut, for one to make the first move.

None of them do.

I notice a few of them looking at me like 'what the hell is this stupid mortal doing here?'. Smirking, I lean back a bit, my back brushing Loki's, and murmur, "You take the ones on the right, I'll take the ones on the left?"

He lets out a soft, but mischievous laugh and lunges forward, grabbing one elf's shoulder and disarming it before stabbing the creature in the neck. As if on cue, all of Dark Elves start attacking us.

"I'll take that as a yes." I mutter before diving into battle.

**Okay, if any of you draw a picture of that scene (with Loki and Zoey back-to-back about to kick some elf ass) I will love you forever! I just- they're just so- yes! Okay, I got that out, so now... yeah, bye**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	11. Chapter 11

**Almost forgot to update today!**

**The title of this chapter is from Jeffree Star 'I'm in Love (With a Killer)'**

**I only own my characters**

Chapter Eleven

Stab me straight through the heart

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Owww!"

Note to self: Don't punch Dark Elves wearing armor.

I hiss in pain, shaking my throbbing hand. I had tried to punch an elf in the stomach, 'cause, ya know, that hurts like _hell_. Unfortunately, the dude is wearing some weird, white, belly armor thing that's as hard as a rock.

Okay, yeah, I know punching an armored elf may not have been the _best _idea on my part, but the stuff looks soft and mushy. How was I supposed to tell the difference?

You know, this reminds me of that time Madison and I were fist bumping, but she didn't slow down, so-

"Yikes!"

I jerk back to reality as a Dark Elf shoots its gun at me. Ducking, I snarl and lunge forward, lashing out with my knife. The blade cuts its wrist and I knock the gun out of the elf's hands. Then, I grab its arm, yank it forward, and slice its neck with my dagger. The elf drops to the ground, lifeless.

Whirling around, I come face-to-face with two more Dark Elves. One of them raises its gun to shoot at me, but I quickly throw my knife into its neck.

The other one doesn't have a gun, but a mace instead. It swings the spiked ball at me and I duck. Surging forward, I ram into its armored chest with my head with enough force to knock it off its feet. And to give me a bump.

I wince, then shake my head and leap onto the elf. It struggles underneath me, but I quickly snap the poor brute's neck. Ew.

Panting, I stand up and gaze down at its lifeless body. Natasha would be so proud! Ugh, but I know what Madison would say right now.

Omg, I can't believe you did that!

Ew, that's so gross!

Couldn't you have knocked it out instead of killing it? The poor thing!

_No, Madison, I could _not _have knocked it out! _I quip at her in my head, even though she can't hear me, _It obviously has some weird helmet to prevent that from happening! Duh!_

…

Oh, God, I miss Madison _so_ much!

Sighing, I glance to my right and see a Dark Elf staring at me with blank eyes, its gun raised. I stare back at it, waiting for its next move, but it doesn't do anything. I give it a confused look and then roll my eyes.

"What, you wanna piece of me?" I ask intimidatingly, taking a step forward. It raises its gun, but stays still.

"Phht, whatever." I scoff, and then lunge towards it. As fast as lightning, I kick the gun out of its hands and then punch it in the face. Ow. Again.

The Dark Elf falls backwards and I leap onto it. Since I'm such a nice person, I just rip its mask off and knock it out instead of killing it. Yeah, that's how awesome I am.

Once it's out cold, I look up and see Loki fighting another group of elves nearby. I'm about to go and help when I notice the elvish gun on my left. Perking up, I grab it and stand.

Hopefully I didn't damage it too much when I kicked it out of the elf's hands. And hopefully I won't accidentally shoot myself because I have no idea how to use a gun. I mean, it's not like Natasha hasn't taught me (because she has, _trust _me), I'm just not very good with them. They're so loud when they fire, and it's like they're trying to jump out of your hands. And don't get me started on aim!

I jerk back to reality as I hear Loki grunt. He's still fighting the elves, but I notice a scratch on his temple. Okay, screw my fear.

Finding the trigger on the gun, I rush towards the battle and yell, "Loki, DUCK!" Immediately, the trickster drops to the ground and the Dark Elves look over at me.

Leaping into the air, I pull the trigger and fire over and over at them. The light/lazer bullet zaps them, burning their armor and making them screech. It seems like they can take a few hits before going down, so I just continue firing.

"Hell yeah, moth-" my curse is drowned out by the sound of dying elves and firing guns. Damn, this elf pistol thing is going like a machine gun! I love it!

Soon, only one more Dark Elf is standing, but I back off and let Loki beat it up. The Sly One jumps to his feet and, as quick as Thor's lightning, grabs the elf's head in his hands and smashes it against his armored knee. There's a loud crack, and then the creature drops heavily to the floor, its mask split in half.

"Cool." I grin, giving the god a thumbs up.

Panting, Loki looks at me and says, "Nice shooting. For a child."

Rolling my eyes, I walk past him, elbowing him in the side as I do, "Teen, Jailbird. Teen. There is a huge, _huge _difference."

"My name is Loki," he corrects me again, "Not '_Jailbird'_."

I shrug, not looking at him, and open my mouth to reply when something catches my eye. A really big boulder flying across a valley. I frown. What the hell is that?

The rock crashes into a mountainside, shattering into a million pieces. A few moments later, a red and silver figure emerges from it and my eyes widen. As I feared, I see Kurse and watch as he stalks towards Thor quickly.

Glancing over my shoulder, I say, "Hey, Thor's being attacked by Kurse."

Right when I say that, I hear the _whoosh _sound of the Thunder God summoning his hammer. Nearby, Mjolnir bursts out from beneath some rocks and rushes towards Thor. I smile, but then gawk as Kurse sends a backhand to it and the hammer crashes to the ground.

Whoa.

Not even Hulk can do that!

"Come." I jump in surprise at Loki's voice beside me. The God of Mischief brushes past me and runs towards his brother. I smirk. So he _does _love his bro!

Before I start after him, I turn around and retrieve my knife from a Dark Elf's neck. Ignoring the blood on it, I slip it into one of my pockets, and then notice something on the ground. I hesitate, and then brush some debris off of the object.

A sword.

A fancy, black, kick-ass sword.

My eyes widen in awe. Damn, although these elves are a pain in the neck, I _love _their weapons. Especially when they're in my hands.

Leaning down, I carefully pick up the sword by its hilt. The blade drags on the ground, deciding to be too lazy to fight against gravity. With a small grunt, I lift the whole thing into the air. Wow, it's heavier than I expected.

"Are you going to help or not, Wolf?" Loki's voice echoes across the valley and I glance up. He's a bit away from me, almost at the top of one of the hills. Gripping the sword tightly so I don't drop it, I jog towards him. The trickster raises an eyebrow at the weapon in my hands as I get closer.

"What is that?" he asks, sounding exasperated.

I roll my eyes, "A sword. Duh! And what's with the new 'wolf' nickname?"

Loki ignores the sword and turns around, "Would you prefer me to call you 'mortal'?" He starts speed walking up to the hilltop. Scoffing, I trot up to his side and say, "I'd _prefer _Zoey."

"And I'd prefer Loki." he counters and I wrinkle my nose, huffing, "Touche."

We reach the top of the hill and gaze down at the valley. Currently, Kurse is punching the ground repeatedly, much to my confusion. Judging by the flashes of silver and red underneath him, I'm guessing that Thor is the one getting bashed.

"Hmm." I hum, watching the scene, and then glance at Loki, "I think he needs help, Jailbird."

The Sly One arches an eyebrow, giving me an incredulous look, "You _think_?" He turns back to the valley and I notice his eyes narrow slightly. From his intense look, I'm guessing he's mulling something over in his head.

After a few moments of silence, and the faint sounds of Thor being punched, I ask awkwardly, "So, got any ideas?"

There's a pause, and then Loki replies, "Yes, actually. I've got a plan."

"Cool." I perk up, "What do I do?"

He takes the elvish sword from me, and then says, "Stay here and stay silent."

My jaw drops. "What?!" I exclaim, outraged, "Hell no! I wanna help!"

"And you will." The trickster drawls, sounding irritated, "Just wait for my signal." Without waiting for a reply, he turns away and heads down the mountain. I stare after him, still angry, but then sigh and sit down behind a boulder. I peek out from behind it, watching Loki as he stalks towards Kurse, the elf sword in his hands.

Ahh, I see what he's doing!

I honestly don't see why I couldn't help, though. I mean, what if Kurse hears him and attacks? And why did he tell me to wait for his signal if he's just going to kill Kurse right there?

My green-and-amber eyes narrow suspiciously. "What are you planning, Jailbird?" I mutter under my breath.

Suddenly, I hear rocks shift behind me and whirl around, my heart pounding. Much to my relief, I realize that it's only Jane. The astrophysicist smiles, looking a little shaky, and creeps towards me. When she notices the fight going on in the valley, her eyes widen and she exclaims, "Is that Thor?!"

"Shh!" I hush, glancing over my shoulder, "Yeah, it is. But Loki's gonna help him!"

She doesn't looked relieved. At all.

"Are you sure?" she asks in a low voice, "What if he was lying? You remember what he did. How he tried to take over Earth. He has tried to kill Thor over and over. How can we trust him?"

I give her a long look. Then, I glance at the valley. Loki is almost behind Kurse. Making up my mind, I turn back to Jane and lie, "You're right. We can't. I'm going to go after him. You stay here, though."

She nods and hides behind the boulder. Whirling around, I quickly slither down the hill. Since I'm going kind of fast, pebbles and metal clatter around me, but I don't care. Kurse is busy with Thor, and Loki's already about to attack the giant Dark Elf.

A few feet away, I stop, holding my breath and watching. As fast as lightning, Loki lifts the sword and stabs it right through Kurse's back. I grin.

Boo-yah! You dead, brothah!

To my confusion, though, the Dark Elf doesn't fall down, or even cry out in pain. Instead, he slowly turns around towards the Sly One. Then, without warning, he suddenly grabs Loki and stabs him with the end of the blade jutting through his chest.

"Loki, _no!_" I shriek, my heart lurching. The trickster yells in pain, while Kurse glares daggers at him. The Dark Elf shoves Loki away and the God of Mischief falls to the ground. Immediately, I rush to his side, dropping to my knees.

Then, time seems to slow down.

My hand reaches for his wound, but… I don't find any. No gash, no blood, no nothing. Only a green flash of magic. My eyes widen and I glance at Loki in surprise. He gives me a strange look, and then time plays fast again.

The trickster grabs my upper arm for support, grunting. Shaking out of my shock, I use a knee and my left arm to prop him up. My other hand is still clutching where his wound should be.

Panting, Loki looks up at Kurse and hisses, "See you in hell, monster!"

My sensitive ears pick up a beeping sound and I glance up at the Dark Elf. Kurse looks down at his belt, and I realize that one of the grenades is beeping. He grabs it, attempting to turn it off, but it's too late. I flinch as a black hole erupts and Kurse is sucked into it, screeching.

I look back down at Loki, my eyes darting to and fro, searching for some sort of injury or _anything_. He gives me the same look from before, but this time I realize that it's a _warning _look.

Before I can do anything else, something hard rams into me and I'm flung aside. I yelp, and then scramble to my feet. Thor is now where I was, trying to be gentle with Loki but clearly panicked.

What's even more surprising is that there _is _a wound now. Loki's covering it with a hand, but blood soaks the cloth and armor around it.

My mind whirls. I- I don't understand… he-he just got stabbed, but… the wound, it's- well, it _is _there now, but it wasn't before!

"No. No, no, no!" Thor mutters feverishly, grabbing his brother's shoulder and pulling him onto his lap, "Oh, you fool, you didn't listen!"

I notice Loki's skin turning grey and my heart skips a beat.

"I know." the trickster rasps, looking at the Thunder God, "I'm a fool. I'm a fool." He gasps for air at the end.

Suddenly, something inside of me jerks awake. Through my clouded, confused mind, a little shadow of sense peeks in. I narrow my eyes. Wait a minute…

"Stay with me, okay?" Thor grabbing Loki's face for a moment, and then moving back to his wound. "I'm sorry." Loki gasps, eyes wide and skin even grayer, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." The shadow of sense becomes bigger in my mind and I frown. Something's off here…

"Shh." Thor hushes, "It's okay." Loki's breaths become shallower and the Thunder God continues, "It's alright. I'll tell Father what you did here today."

Loki pauses, and then meets his gaze, "I didn't do it for him." His skin loses its color and grays completely. Then, his head tilts back and he closes his eyes.

Thor scowls, shaking, and yells out in anguish, "No!" He squeezes his eyes shut and cradles his brother, silently sobbing.

My lip quivers and my eyes start watering. The only thing that keeps the tears from falling is my confusion. But still, right now isn't the best time to be questioning things.

Taking a deep breath, I kneel down next to Thor, gazing down at Loki's body with pity. Thor's head is on his brother's chest and he's moaning in grief. My heart aches and I faintly hear footsteps behind me as Jane approaches.

Being the jerk that it is, the Wolf chooses this moment to scoff. I clench my jaw and snarl, _What? Got anything useful to say _now, _smartass? Well, it's kind of late-_

The Wolf interrupts me by rolling its eyes and growling, _Silence._

_Me?! _I exclaim in outrage, _Uh, no, you'd better sh-_

_Use your senses, _the Wolf interrupts again. I narrow my eyes, _What?_

_You are confused, _it says, _Wolves don't _get _confused. They figure things out. Now use your senses to do so. _

I stifle a retort, mainly because that's a good idea.

Well, I can't _see _the wound because Thor's in the way, but there's a good amount of blood soaking Loki's clothes. Okay, next- feeling. My spine is still tingling, like it always does around Loki's magic due to my sixth sense. Um, I guess magic doesn't end when its owner dies. Hmm…

_Smell, _the Wolf commands. Obeying, I take a deep sniff, and then knit my eyebrows in confusion. There's…. there's no death-scent. I inhale again, but I only smell Loki's normal scent. My shoulders droop as realization starts to dawn on me.

No...way...

To confirm my beliefs, I cast my hearing out. Thor's sobs are really loud, as well as his rabbiting heartbeat. Forcing that aside, I search past all that, and then, I hear it! A low, calm, beating heart. Coming from- you guessed it- Loki.

My eyes widen and my jaw drops in outrage.

That _bastard!_

What the hell does he think he's doing?! Making his brother think he's dead just to, what, get away from him?! That _stupid _little moron- he nearly gave me a heart attack!

_Question his motives, _the Wolf rumbles, _Instead of uselessly yelling in your brain. _

I hiss at it, but then glance at Loki's gray face. Why _is _he playing dead? I mean, it's gotta be something more than getting away from Thor. Just to be sure, I listen for his heartbeat again, and then check all my other senses. Yup, he's definitely alive.

I frown at the trickster. What are you planning?

_Whatever it is, he doesn't want you to tell anyone, _the Wolf says. I tilt my head slightly and ask, _What makes you think that?_

_The look he gave you, _it replies, _You don't need words to know that he wants you to keep quiet about his little scheme. So what are you going to do?_

_Oh, you're leaving it up to me, now? _I counter sassily, _What ever happened to the annoying, bossy you? _

The Wolf stays silent. I can tell it's waiting for me to answer its question.

Sighing, I give Loki a long look. I hate myself, I hate myself, I _hate _myself for this, but… Oh, God, why does he have to be so- ugh!

_I'm not gonna tell anyone, _I reply to the Wolf. For the first time in forever (haha, Frozen), it actually seems _surprised _at my answer.

_Why not? _it asks, tilting its imaginary head.

_Because, _I say, hesitating, _Because I wouldn't like it if somebody blew one of _my _pranks. Especially if I thought the person was on my side._

Are _you on his side? _the Wolf questions suspiciously. I frown, _What other side is there? Besides the evil one._

The Wolf sighs, as if it's obvious, and says, _He's not with the Dark Elves, but he most definitely is _not _with his brother on this. So, who's side are you on? The trickster's, or your so-called Packmate's? _

I pause, thinking, and then reply smartly, _I'm on my own side. I've got a dark side like the Dark Elves, I'm mischievous like Loki, and I can be a hero like Thor. Well, I guess you could call me a mutt. _

The Wolf scoffs and rolls its eyes, _You are still an insolent, foolish pup. _

_And you are still an annoying, bossy smart-ass. _I retort, inwardly smirking. And with that, I force it out of my mind. Pwned.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see Jane staring at something in the distance. Following her gaze, I notice a large, dark mass of clouds coming towards us. Rather quickly, too. Standing up, I look down at Thor mourning over his pretending-to-be-dead brother. I glance at Jane desperately. We can't stay here, but I don't know how to tell Thor to leave Loki.

Jane nods and takes a deep breath. Kneeling down next to her Asgardian boyfriend, she starts muttering silently to him. I take a step back, not listening. A few moments later, Thor reluctantly straightens up and rises to his feet. He tears his gaze away from his brother and looks up at the storm approaching us.

"We must leave." his voice is heavy with grief. The Thunder God turns back to his brother and says, "I wish we could perform a proper funeral for him."

"When people die on Earth, their relatives and friends bury them in the ground." Jane suggests. I inhale sharply. Uh oh. That wouldn't be good. Before Thor can reply, I say, "The winds from the storm will probably cover him with rocks and soil. That'll protect him."

Thor stays silent, simply staring at his brother. Jane glances at me, and then says softly, "We don't want to get caught in the storm."

"And anyway," I add, "You and I are Avengers. We'll avenge his death and make sure it wasn't in vain. Malekith is going _down_."

The Thunder God perks up at that and looks at me. With a determined expression, he growls, "Yes. Yes he is." With one last glance at Loki, he turns around and puts an arm around Jane, leading her away. I move to follow them, but then hesitate.

Whirling around, I quickly and silently slink back to Loki. Leaning over him, I snarl, "You owe me so much, _Jailbird_."

**You can't keep a secret from Zoey, can you? **

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	12. Chapter 12

**Almost forgot to update today! **

**The title of this chapter is from P!nk 'Funhouse' **

**I only own my characters**

Chapter Twelve

Your taunting smirk behind the glass

A cave.

A small, cozy-looking cave.

In my wolf form, I stick my head through the entrance. Turns out, on the inside it's way more roomy. Good.

Squeezing inside, I accidentally stumble on a rock. Wincing, I lift up my paw and look around. There are a lot of large rocks lying around the entrance, probably blown in by the storm.

Carefully avoiding them, I go deeper into the cave and take a sniff. Bleh. Smells like old…

"Shoes?" I yip in surprise. Sure enough, there are old shoes lying around in the back of the cave, as well as a bunch of other junk. Hey, what if there's another one of those invisible portals? Like the one Jane found? Jane- oh! I should tell her about this!

Squeezing back out of the cave, I whirl around and brace myself against the harsh wind of the storm. It has gotten a lot stronger, and the storm is way bigger now. Rivers of dust, rock, and metal ride the currents, sweeping down the hills and getting clogged in my pelt.

Digging my claws into the ground, I gaze down at the outcropping of rock where Jane and Thor are taking cover. Beyond it lies the valley where the fight took place. Narrowing my enhanced eyes, I scour the land for a certain God of Mischief.

My eyes land on a dark figure laying on the ground, almost obscured by rock and metal. Holding my breath, I watch as it rises to its feet. There's a flash of green as it turns into something else, and then disappears.

I sigh, shaking my head. Dammit, Jailbird, what are you _doing_? How can he just leave me with this secret without even telling me what he's going to do, or what _I _have to do?

Sighing again, I bound down the hill to Jane and Thor's outcropping. Thankfully, the wind is blowing upwind for me and giving me speed as I race down the hill.

Skidding to a halt beside the outcropping, I let out a loud bark. A few moments later, Thor emerges from the cover, looking beat up and tired. Jerking my head towards the cave, I let out another bark and spin in a circle. No way am I turning into a fragile, weak human in _this _weather.

Thor seems to get the message and holds up a hand before turn back towards the outcropping. He disappears partially into a crevice for a moment, and then reappears with Jane. She looks exhausted, shaking and hugging herself so she looks even smaller. Eh, I don't blame her. Getting an ancient parasite sucked out of you by an elf can't be pleasant. Not to mention that, well, she isn't the _strongest _normal human I've ever met…. she's more brains than brawn.

Like Madison. See, she usually thinks before she acts, whereas I… well, you know.

Thor nods to me and I lead the way up the hill. A few moments later, I feel a small hand grab onto my tail and reluctantly go slower, dragging Jane along. Glancing over my shoulder, I see the astrophysicist stumbling slowly after me, one hand clutching my tail as if to make sure she doesn't fall behind. Thor is helping her keep up, but even he looks weary.

Sighing, I halt and gaze at the cave, which now seems far away, especially with the wind blowing towards us. We'll never get there at this pace.

Turning around, I gently nudge Jane's side with my nose. She gives me a confused look, "What?"

Fighting against the wind, I steadily lower myself to the ground and glance at her. It finally clicks for her and she gives me a grateful smile. Since I grew a _lot _the past year, she needs a little help from Thor to climb onto my back. Once Jane's on, she clings onto my pelt tightly and buries her face in it, hiding from the wind.

I huff and straighten up, blinking in surprise. She barely weighs a thing!

Turning, I start back up the hill at a much faster pace. Next to me, Thor holds onto my side, trudging determinedly. He keeps up well, but I can tell that he's struggling. After a while, I feel his hand begin to pull on my fur harder, so I stop.

Eh, I might as well.

Nudging his side, I crouch down and wait for him to climb onto my back. He hesitates, but then settles down behind Jane. I grunt as I straighten up.

Okay, humans- light.

Asgardians- heavy as hell!

Ignoring the pressure on my back, I manage to continue lumbering up the hill. To regular humans, it would seem that I'm going unnecessarily fast. For me, though, this is barely even jogging. Man, I grew a lot! I wonder how big I'll be when I'm an adult.

Choosing not to worry about that, I pick up the pace and start trotting. I feel Jane and Thor cling onto my pelt harder, but it doesn't hurt much. Soon, the cave is only a few feet away and I stop. Crouching down, I let my two riders climb off my back and watch as they disappear into the cave.

Morphing back into my human form, I dart in after them.

The two look tired, but they still take care in avoiding the large rocks laying around the cave. Brushing past them, I hop onto a cluster of jagged boulders jutting out of the ground. Unlike them, I have scientifically enhanced stamina, so I'm not very tired.

Jane lets out a heavy sigh and leans against the boulder I'm on. "He's going to unleash it." she says breathlessly, "Not just on Asgard, or a star. Malekith is going to destroy everything."

I narrow my eyes, "How do you know that?"

Jane glances over her shoulder at me and then looks at Thor, "I saw him on Earth. Why would he go to Earth?"

"I don't know." I sigh, looking at the ground. This has been such a crappy day.

Meanwhile, Thor glances away, a troubled expression on his face, "The Convergence." Jane's shoulders droop and she murmurs something. I blink in confusion. What's the Convergence?

Before I can ask, the astrophysicist sighs guiltily, "None of this would have happened if I hadn't found the Aether."

"True." I blurt out rudely. They both look at me and I raise my hands, "I mean- nobody blames you. You didn't mean for this to happen."

"And you are not the cause of this, either." Thor adds, stepping closer to Jane, "If you had not found it, then Malekith would've only possessed it that much sooner." As he gets closer to her, she looks up.

In a small voice, she says, "I only found it because I was looking for you." I tilt my head, smirking slightly. Aww, cute.

Thor looks down at her fondly and murmurs, "Jane…" When he starts stroking her hair, I begin to feel uncomfortable. Well, it's not _my _fault I get all awkward when couples are being all lovey-dovey. I'm just not that into romance, especially after that whole Faolan thing. I thought I loved him _that _way, and I thought he did too, but things were just too complicated to think about dating. I mean, half the time we were thousands of miles away from each other, _and _we've always had a brother-sister relationship. Also the fact that he doesn't even know what a date is may have played a part in it…. Whatever. The main point is that we've decided to just be friends, thus leaving me with my first impression of relationships.

And let me tell you this.

They _suck_.

And don't even get me started on all the romance movies Madison showed me after that whole brouhaha. Ladyhawk was my least favorite.

…

Anyway…

I clear my throat awkwardly and they both turn to me, "Uh, yeah, I'm here too, so please don't start making out."

Jane rolls her eyes, but before she can say anything, a loud hip-hop ringtone blares out. I jump in surprise, the sound echoing in the cave and hurting my sensitive ears.

Jane and Thor glance at each other, while I look down at my pocket. My iPhone remains motionless. At Jane's confused look, I shake my head, "It's not me."

Pinpointing the sound, I point at her toga and she takes her phone out of her pocket and puts it up to her ear, "Hello?"

Even without my enhanced ears, I would be able to hear the horribly familiar voice coming through her phone, "**Hi, Jane, it's Richard."** Ugh, this douche-bag.

"Richard?" Jane exclaims, standing up, "Where are you?"

"**I'm still at the office. It's been a crazy day here today." **he replies.

Like any normal person does when trying to find signal, Jane goes all Lion King on her phone and raises it into the air. Thor and I glance at each other as she breathes in awe, "Oh my God, this is amazing!"

"**Is it?" **Richard asks, clearly still thinking about their date, "**I quite enjoyed our lunch. Despite never actually ordering anything."**

"How am I getting service here?" Jane wonders aloud. "**Is this a bad time? Do you want me to try you later?" **Richard asks and I- WHOA, WAIT A SECOND! 'Try you later'? What's that supposed to mean?

I whip my head towards Thor, staring at him in disbelief. Protect your girlfriend, dammit! An annoying Brit is flirting with her! HE'S GOING TO 'TRY HER LATER'! I DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

Thor frowns, as if it finally clicks for him, and looks at me. I nod franticly and his frown deepens.

"No, no, no!" Jane says, "Please, whatever you do, do _not _hang up the phone." I grimace. Girl, now you just sound desperate.

"**Okay, then. I was just wondering if you want to try again. Uh, maybe dinner next time. And I wouldn't tell those friends of yours, by the way. The punk one didn't seem to like me much."**

"Oh, good." I huff, rolling my eyes, "He finally got the memo."

Meanwhile, Thor gives a look like 'huh'. Good. He's finally seeing who the _real _threat is.

Jane is still looking around and going all Simba with her phone, "Uh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Just stay on the phone, okay?" She starts moving around the cave.

"**Yeah, I will." **Richard replies. He sounds a bit awkward. Good.

Thor and I watch as Jane walks towards the back of the cave. I suddenly remember the portals back there and jump to my feet, "Hey, wait!"

As I scramble after her, I hear the scientist gasp, "Oh my God!" She bends down and I see her pick up car keys in the midst of the Earth rubbish on the ground.

"**Am I interrupting something?" **Richard asks and I mutter immediately, "Yes."

"No, no, no, nothing at all." Jane replies, shooting me a glare. She looks around and then hisses at me, "Find the portal!"

"Okay, okay." I say, raising my hands, "Geez, bossy." Turning around, I walk deeper into the cave, searching for the familiar tingling of a nearby portal. Almost immediately, I sense one in front of me and halt. Narrowing my eyes, I gaze at the air and notice a quick shimmer, which disappears as soon as it comes.

"Here it is." I say, and then turn around, beckoning them, "Come on." Jane walks towards me and I hear Richard say, "**I'm losing you there. Are you in a tunnel?"**

"Where are we going?" Thor asks, following Jane and taking her hand.

"**Hello?"**

The God of Thunder looks around in confusion, "Why are there so many shoes in here?" I roll my eyes, turn back around, and walk through the portal.

The next thing I know, I'm on Earth.

It's nighttime now, back at the creepy abandoned factory in London. Judging by the looks of things, it appears that Thor caused some trouble before he took Jane to Asgard. I'll have to ask them about that later.

"Ahh, Earth sweet Earth." I exhale loudly as the two lovers appear from the portal behind me. Stepping away from it, I get an odd feeling in my mind, as if an empty hole was suddenly filled. My eyes widen in realization and I put two fingers to my temple.

_Madison? _I ask, just as she exclaims, _ZOEY!_

I smile and say, _Hey, I'm back on-_

_Oh my God, where the hell were you?! _She interrupts, clearly trying not to yell, _You and Jane disappear for days without a note or phone call and-and- and I couldn't even contact you through our minds! We're always able to do that! Where the bloody hell did you go?! Do you know how much stress you put me through?! You are sooooo lucky I didn't tell Mom about this! The only reason I didn't is because I knew that she wouldn't be able to scold you as hard as I AM WHEN YOU GET YOUR MUTANT ASS OVER HERE! _

_Madison! _I interrupt and she screams, _What?!_

_Can you shut up? _I ask rudely. Immediately, she retaliates, _You-you-_

_I'll explain everything soon, _I say, trying to calm her down, _Just tell me where you are so I can come to you. _

Madison pauses and I assume she's taking a breath, even though she doesn't need any air to talk with me in her mind, but then replies, _Jane's apartment._

_Kk. Be there soon. _I remove my fingers from my temple and follow Jane as she leads us to her car, which is severely damaged.

_You're going to have hell to pay! _Madison grumbles before leaving my head.

I shudder, not wanting to think about said hell, and carefully open the door to Jane's car. The windows are shattered, so I try to avoid the glass shards as I climb into the back seat. In front of me, Thor gets in the front seat beside Jane. The large Asgardian looks way too big for this small Midgardian car. Judging by the way he keeps shifting, he's not very comfortable either.

As Jane turns on the engine, Thor asks casually, "So, who's Richard?"

"_Really_?" Jane sighs as she starts to back up the car. Smirking, I answer for her, "He's this British dude that went on a date with her. By the way, Jane, you were really awkward."

"Gee, thanks."

"What is a date?" Thor asks. I open my mouth to reply, but Jane interrupts, "Don't answer that!" I frown a little, and then huff, "Whatever. He's a douche-bag. I don't like him."

As Jane drives forward, she sighs, "Yeah, me neither."

"Then why did you go out with him?"

"_Because," _she hesitates, "I had to distract myself."

"From what?"

She doesn't reply.

I tilt my chin up and look out the window, "Ah." I'm guessing she meant Thor. Said God of Thunder is glancing at us in confusion, but thankfully doesn't say anything.

An awkward moment later, I perk up and ask, "So, what's this Convergence you guys were talking about?"

"Tis a dangerous event that occurs every five thousand years." Thor explains, "The Nine Realms travel within Yggdrasil, orbiting Midgard in much the way your planet orbits the sun. The Convergence is when all worlds align perfectly. During this time, the borders between worlds become blurred. Portals and passageways form, and I assume that is how you found your way to Asgard."

I stare quizzically at the back of his seat, raising an eyebrow, "And when the worlds aren't aligned anymore...?"

"The connection is lost." He replies. I simply give a hum and gaze outside my window. The cool night air blows soothingly at my face and I sigh tiredly. Today was a really long day. First we broke Loki out of prison, then we escaped Asgard, then we battled Dark Elves, then Loki "died", then there was a storm, and now this? At least I won't have to worry about magical portals once this Convergence thing is over.

I close my eyes and let the cold breeze stream over my forehead, trying to will away a headache. Ugh, I don't want to think about what Madison has in store for me. She sounded really pissed. But I guess it will be nice to see her again- I've felt lonely without her. She's always been my partner-in-crime, even if she doesn't approve of everything I do. And I can't really blame her for being mad; I'd be freaking out if she went missing too.

Breathing in deeply, I let out a long sigh. I'm just glad she didn't tell Mom. Oh, but what if she told SHIELD? Wouldn't Fury have noticed that he no longer knew where his precious little puppy was? Ha, but I'm not so little anymore! Part of me wants him to come, just so I can show him how big I am now!

Chuckling to myself, I open my eyes again and stifle a scream. It was quick- no normal human would've seen it. They wouldn't have noticed the flickering image of a certain God of Mischief in the window of a building.

I straighten up and stick my head outside of the car, looking back at the building as it grows farther and farther away. I have to restrain myself from telling Jane to stop the car- that would make her suspicious. The image is gone, much to my dismay, and soon, so is the building.

I press my back against my seat, my heartbeat rabbiting. No, it was just my eyes playing tricks on me. There's no way I just saw Loki _here _on _Earth_. Why would he come here, anyway? He's supposed to be _avoiding_ his brother.

_Zoey, are you alright? _I hear Madison's voice enter my head. Nodding, even though she can't see me, I reply, _Yeah, why?_

_I felt your fear, _she says and I sniff, pretending to be offended, _It wasn't fear, it was surprise._

_Whatever, _my step-sister huffs before leaving my head. I give myself a rough, wolf-like shake to try to wake myself up. Can't be hallucinating from exhaustion at a time like this.

I gaze outside my broken window again. Almost immediately, the image returns, this time flickering in the side-mirror of the car. I inhale sharply, staring at a fully-armored Loki for half a second before the image disappears.

Suddenly, my spine starts tingling and my blood fizzes. Oh, God, I know this feeling. It's his mag-

I have to bite my tongue to keep myself from screaming when I hear Loki's voice in the wind whisper, "_It's a secret." _

My eyes widen and I glance around wildly, looking for the God of Mischief. The feeling of his magic fades away as quickly as it comes and the wind continues to whistle like it normally does.

In the front seat, Jane glances back at me and asks, "You alright, Zoey? You look a little startled."

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm fine." I reply, trying to keep my voice from quivering. Thankfully, she doesn't seem to notice and continues driving.

I drop my head to my hands, trying to wrap this situation around my brain. Okay, okay, _breathe _Zoey…. Okay. I recall what Loki's voice said and frown. It's a secret? _It's a secret? _What's that supposed to mean?

_It means, _the Wolf growls in my head, _that he wants you to keep your mouth shut about him being alive. _

_Well, I wasn't going to tell anyone, anyway, _I say and it shrugs. After a pause, the Wolf says, _I assume he was just making sure. Wouldn't you?__  
_

_Well, yeah, but… _I glance at the full moon in the night sky, letting out a quick shudder, _I wouldn't do it so creepily. _

But, hey, what do you expect from the God of Mischief?

**R&R**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	13. Chapter 13

**Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!**

**The title of this chapter is from Blue Foundation 'Eyes on Fire'**

**I don't own Marvel**

Chapter Thirteen

I'm not scared of your stolen power

"I dunno." I say warily, "I'm kind of scared."

"You're gonna have to face her sooner or later." Jane points out. Thor chuckles softly and adds, "Lady Madison is a gentle, kind Midgardian. She should forgive you easily."

Right now, we're standing in front of the door to Jane's apartment. I'm completely terrified, not wanting to face Madison's wrath. Or Darcy's. She's probably going to be mad at me too.

I open my mouth to object once more, but Jane interrupts me with an impatient sigh.

"Zoey, we don't have time for this." she says sternly before unlocking the door and opening it. I have no choice but to follow her as she leads us inside.

Darcy, who is on her computer, notices us first and exclaims, "Jane!" She gets up and walks towards her. Jane barely acknowledges her and simply says, "Hey." before walking past her.

Darcy follows her, looking annoyed, "You can't just leave like that. The whole world is going crazy. All the stuff we saw is spreading."

Next to me, Thor hangs his hammer on a coat rack. I raise an eyebrow, and Darcy finally seems to notice me.

"Zoey!" she exclaims and I wince. Uh oh, here she comes. Three… two… one-

"ZOEY!" Madison screams as she bursts into the room, making us all cover our ears. She swoops down on me like a hawk and then starts screeching like a banshee, "WHAT THE _HELL _DID YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING? RUNNING OFF LIKE AN IDIOT IN AN ABANDONED FACTORY AND WALKING INTO A PORTAL WITHOUT EVEN _TELLING _ME BEFOREHAND?!"

"Well, actually, I _did _tell you I was going to look for Jane-" I try to say, but she interrupts me.

"You thought that nobody would notice you being gone! You thought that-that I would automatically know you were _safe _and _alive _and _not kidnapped by a FREAKING PSYCHO MANIAC! _Did you even _think _before you ran off to Asgard without even telling me? How could you do this, Zoey? How could you put me through that?" Her voice cracks at the end of her rant and she starts crying. She glares at me the whole time, tears rolling down her cheeks and breath shuddering. I stand there, bewildered, not knowing what to say. Meanwhile, everyone in the room is staring at us.

Moments of silence pass, only broken by Madison's sobs. I look down at my feet and shift my weight awkwardly, "I'm sorry."

Madison takes a shaky breath and whispers in a broken voice, "You scared me to death, Zoey. I thought you were-" She cuts herself off, unable to finish. I stare at her, feeling guilty. Before I know it, her arms are around my neck and she's sobbing into my shoulder. I wince and pat her back awkwardly. Man, she's stronger than I thought she was!

My step-sister doesn't stop hugging me after the appropriate amount of time and doesn't seem to be planning on letting me go any time soon.

I give the others a desperate look, but they don't step in to help. Instead, a man (who I believe is Erik Selvig) exclaims out of the blue, "You've been to Asgard!" He stands up from his seat behind a desk and I notice that he's only in his underwear.

Jane looks at him and asks, "Where are your pants?"

"Oh, he, uh…" Ian replies, standing up as well and walking over to us, "He says it helps him think."

"Um… Okay." I cough awkwardly and try to push Madison away from me, "Okay, Maddie, I love you too, but get off of me please." She finally stops crying and peels herself off of me. Wiping the tears from her face, she looks down at my clothes and says, "Oh, wow, you really _did _go to Asgard."

"Erik," I start paying attention as Jane addresses her mentor, "I'm going to need everything you got on this. All the work you've been doing on gravimetric anomalies- everything."

"Okay."

Jane nods and walks past him. Behind me, Thor asks, "Are you well, Erik?"

_No, _Madison says in my head, _He's crazy. He was running around naked in Stonehenge, got arrested, and when we got him out, the police guy gave us a huge bag of Selvig's prescription medicine. And he ate, like, a whole bottle at once!_

I stifle a snicker and glance at her, _So, no hard feelings?_

_Don't push it, _she gives me a look and I smile.

"Your brother's not coming, is he?" Erik's question catches my attention. I glance at Thor, but he simply replies solemnly, "Loki is dead."

No, he's not. Sucker.

"Oh, thank God!" Erik blurts out with relief. Thor and I both frown, me glaring at the scientist. Catching himself, Erik stampers, "I… I meant, I'm so sorry."

_Uh huh, _I think to Madison sarcastically, _Nice save._

_Who's Loki? _She asks and I reply, _I'll tell you in a moment._

"Thank you." Thor says, and then he and the scientist hug. Erik pats his back and, after a moment, steps away. He moves to help Jane, who is trying to move some things onto a desk. There're a few slightly awkward moments in which Madison, Thor, Darcy and I just stand around. Then, Ian approaches Thor, looking wary but excited, and starts talking to him.

I don't pay attention to their conversation and instead let Darcy drag me off towards the couch. Madison follows and plops down next to me. Darcy sits on my other side and asks, "So, how was Asgard? Did it have a rainbow bridge?"

"Why do you have cuts and bruises?" Madison questions sharply, and then sighs, "Zoey, what did you do?"

And so, for the next twenty minutes, I recite the tale of Zoey and the Asgardian Brothers. At first, I consider leaving out Loki, but then I add him in when I realize that he plays too big of a role to be left out. Throughout my story, Madison and Darcy comment a _lot._

"Wow, Odin sounds like such a jerk."

"Wait, if Malekith is a Dark Elf, then why is he white?"

"Oh my God, Madison, you can't just ask people why they're white."

"Dude, Loki is like your male Asgardian twin."

"I want an elvish gun!"

"Damn, we should learn magic. Too bad Hogwarts forgot about me."

When I get to the part of Loki's fake death, I hesitate. Should I tell them what really happened? Loki wants me to keep his secret, but…

I sigh, and then say, "But Kurse suddenly grabbed Loki and stabbed him with the end of the sword that was jutting out of his chest."

Darcy gasps, "Uh oh." Madison remains quiet.

"And then, um…" I swallow hard, trying to make my grief look real, "Loki died. Thor took it really hard."

"Aww," Darcy pouts, tilting her head, "And I was just starting to like this guy. He seemed fun."

"He was." I say, smiling a little, "Anyway, then this storm came and we had to take cover in a cave. Thor and Jane had this romantic moment, but it was interrupted by that Richard dude calling her on her phone." They both snicker. "And then Jane tracked the call back to a portal, then we reappeared at the abandoned factory, got in the car, and bam! Here we are."

"Cool." Darcy says, "I wish I had been there."

I raise an eyebrow at her, "Do you really?" She smirks, "No."

Suddenly, Jane calls out from across the room, "Hey, Darcy, can you help us out with this?" Darcy gets up, and I hear the sound of shuffling papers.

Then it's just Madison and I, sitting on the couch. She gives me a knowing look, and I grin sheepishly.

_So, _she asks casually in my head, _Why are you lying about this Loki guy?_

I sigh and smile at her, _Am I that obvious?_

_Yes. Spill._

_Okay, well, he's actually not dead. _I say, _He faked his death. I don't know why. But he really wants me to keep his dirty little secret- seriously, he gave me a warning look and everything. _I pause at the end.

Madison nudges my side, looking expectant, _And?_

I sigh again. I can never keep secrets from her.

_And I may or may not have seen brief images of him here on Earth and heard his voice in the wind, saying, "It's a secret."_

For a few moments, Madison doesn't reply. Then, she shudders and says, _That's creepy, man. _

I let out a huff, _You're telling me? I actually don't mind hearing his voice, though. I like his accent._

_Oh, I see. _Madison replies, an odd tone in her voice. Before I can ask about it, Jane calls us over, "Everybody, come over here, you have to see this."

I arch an eyebrow at Madison, and then heave myself off the couch. Madison follows me as I walk over to where everybody is surrounding a desk in the corner of the room.

"Malekith is going to fire the Aether at a spot where all the Nine Worlds are connecting." Jane says as I squeeze in beside Thor. A bunch of papers are scattered around on the desk, and three computers are on and showing some science stuff that's way too smart for me to understand.

"Amplifying the weapon's impact." Erik says, "For each additional world, the power will increase exponentially. The effect would be universal."

"That's not good." I comment uselessly. Next to me, Thor frowns and says, "But the Alignment is only temporary. He must be in exactly the right place at the right time."

"Well, how do we know where that is?" Darcy asks. Madison sighs and says, "It could be anywhere on Earth. What do we do?"

There's a pause, in which I look to everyone expectantly. Hey, I'm not the brains of this operation.

Finally, Erik says, "We follow the directions." I tilt my head in confusion as he gets up and walks around the desk. We walk after him as he starts looking for something, "This has happened before, thousands of years ago," he grabs a rolled up paper thing and a ruler from another desk and walks to a table, "And the Ancients were there to see it."

With one great movement, he sweeps everything off of the table with his arm, and the things clatter to the floor. He spreads the paper out, and I realize it's a map, reading: British Isles.

"All the great constructions," Erik says, "the Mayans, the Chinese, the Egyptians. They made use of the gravitational effects of the Convergence. And they left us a map." As he continues, he uses a ruler and a red marker to mark stuff on the map, "Stonehenge, Snowdon, the Great Orme. These are all coordinates taking us…" He finishes making a line, "Here."

All of the red lines that he drew all meet at one point.

Ian frowns, "Greenwich?" Jane picks up a mug of some drink and says, "The walls between worlds will be almost non-existent. Physics is going to go ballistic. Increases and decreases in gravity, spatial extrusions. The very fabric of reality is going to be torn apart."

Suddenly, Mjolnir flies off the coat hanger and into Thor's hand. Thunder rumbles outside. We all stare at him in surprise, and then Erik says, "I better get my pants."

"Yes, please." I wince, averting my eyes. As he leaves to his room, Madison asks, "How long will it take to get to Greenwich?"

Ian looks at his watch, "If we leave now, we could get there by 6am."

"Then let's move!" Darcy says, turning and walking away. She grabs the car keys from the desk and glances at us, "I think this situation calls for my terrible yet effective London driving."

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you're right." Jane admits, and then walks towards the door, "Come on, we've got no time to lose."

Thor follows her as she opens the door and leaves. Darcy and Ian walk after them, but before I can do the same, Madison grabs my arm.

"What?" I ask, turning to her. She glances at one of the rooms and says, "Let's wait for Erik." I open my mouth to object, but she gives me a look, "_You _wouldn't want to be left behind." I frown, but thankfully Erik comes out just then.

I turn around, slipping out of Madison's grip, and lead them out of the apartment. Catching up to the others, it only takes a few minutes to exit the building. Then, we come across a _slight _problem.

"How are we all going to fit in the car?" Madison asks. Jane taps her foot on the ground, humming with thought, "Hmm… Well, Darcy's going to be driving anyway, so she's in the front. Thor, you go up with her too. Umm… then Erik, Ian, and I will…. wait-" She glances at Madison and I.

I shake my head and say, "Madison and I can go in the trunk."

"With the equipment?" she raises an eyebrow. I stare at her, "What equipment?"

"I'll explain in the car. Just try not to damage or turn them on." She unlocks the car and opens the trunk. Inside, a bunch of sciencey-looking poles lay taped together. Madison and I glance at each other, and then hop in the trunk.

Then the others proceed to squeeze inside the car. Ian, Erik, and Jane look really uncomfortable in the back seats. I move carefully, trying not to sit on the poles, and lean against the trunk door. Madison sits down next to me, and Darcy calls from the front, "Alright, everybody in?"

"Sort of." Ian grunts, shifting uncomfortably. The engine turns on, making the car rumble. Then, the car suddenly jerks forward as Darcy drives us into the early morning London traffic. A surprising amount of people are out at this time, even though it's still dark.

I hiss, clinging onto the side of the car with my claws. Darcy's driving hasn't improved at all. I flinch at the sound of a car honking.

"So," Madison asks loudly, "What are these sticks for?"

"I need you guys to hammer them down each 15 meters away from each other while I activate them with that square device back there." Jane explains and I notice said device, "It can create a sort of portal-like thing around it that will transport objects elsewhere, using the gravitational fields which will interact with the weak spots between worlds-"

"Uh, Jane." I interrupt, "I don't speak science."

She sighs loudly and Darcy laughs. Madison gives me a disapproving look, but she's smiling. I smile back and lay down on the floor, my mind weary.

"I'm gonna take a nap," I tell her, yawning, "It's been a helluva long day. Plus, with all the inter-dimensional space travel, I've probably been awake for more than 24 hours." Sighing, I close my eyes and mumble, "This puppy needs to sleep."

* * *

Later…

"Rise and shine, wolf-girl!"

I jolt awake as somebody whacks me with a jacket. Grumbling, I sit up wearily and growl, "What?"

The trunk door is open and bright light makes me squint my eyes. The sky is cloudy, and a cold breeze makes me shiver. Darcy grabs her jacket off of me and pokes Madison, who is also asleep, "Up and at 'em, Jabberjay."

Madison blinks her eyes open sleepily, "Wha?"

"Come on, get out." Darcy says, pulling her out of the car. Madison wobbles on her feet and I jump out after her. Jane approaches us and grabs her square device out of the trunk.

"Madison," she says as she taps it, "You, me, and Erik will go up to the top of that tower-" I notice a tall building. "-and activate the GFPs from there. Meanwhile, Zoey, Darcy, and Ian will hammer them into the ground 15 meters away from each other all around here."

I glance around the area. There are four white, rectangular buildings all around us, with two grassy areas in between. The tower Jane was talking about is a bit away, which concerns me a little. I frown, still groggy with sleep, and ask Jane, "Why do you have to go all the way up to the tower?"

"I need a good signal strength." she replies quickly, still staring at her device, "Come on." She turns around and walks towards the tower. Erik follows her, but Madison glances at me, "Um… bye, then? Why do I have to go with them?"

I shrug and she sighs before turning and following the two scientists.

"I shall keep watch for Malekith's arrival." A deep Asgardian voice says behind me and I glance over my shoulder to see Thor. His eyes are narrowed, and Mjolnir is in his hand. He looks at me and says, "Stay vigilant, Lady Zoey." before swinging his hammer and flying into the sky.

Sighing, I turn around and see Darcy and Ian arguing about something. Ian is halfway in the trunk, one hand on the science sticks.

"Focus!" Darcy snaps, "This is important! We have to hammer them in all around the site and then Jane and Erik will activate them from the tower."

Ian grabs the sticks from the trunk, while Darcy starts putting on her jacket. I stand by awkwardly, waiting for someone to tell me what to do. After a few moments, I hear beeping come from the trunk, and Ian complains, "They're taped together."

Darcy pauses in the middle on putting on her jacket, "Do you even know what these things do?" She sounds frustrated.

Ian glances at her, and then at the science sticks, "Uh… no."

She stares at him for a moment, and then admits, "Neither do I."

I frown and say, "I think Jane explained them to us a while ago."

Darcy shrugs, "Eh, I didn't pay attention."

"Zoey!" Ian grunts, fumbling with the sticks, "Can you help me here?" He separates the sticks and hands a few to me. Thanks to my mutantness, they're as light as a feather.

Darcy turns around and leads us towards the lawn, "Come on." Ian and I follow her, and Ian starts hammering one of the sticks into the ground. Darcy hops up and down impatiently, "Come on, come on, come on!"

"Right." Ian grunts, making sure the stick is stable before moving on. I follow him, and then stop dead in my tracks. Darcy and Ian run past me and start hammering in another stick, but I don't move. The back of my neck is prickling and my muscles are taut.

Narrowing my eyes, I turn towards a large lake nearby and stifle a growl. Something's out there- I can feel it. After a few moments, I notice a bunch of glinting and shimmers in the sky, and suddenly a large wave comes rushing towards us, as if something is cutting through the water.

"Darcy, Ian!" I yell, dashing towards them, "We've got company!" They both look up and their eyes widen. I glance over my shoulder and watch as Malekith's ship suddenly appears, coming closer and closer to the ground.

"Holy…" Darcy murmurs behind me. Next to her, Ian exclaims, "Shit!" The elvish ship starts breaking through the ground, sending chunks of concrete and earth everywhere. I whirl around and start running, Darcy and Ian chasing after me.

As the ground rumbles, two cars crash in front of me and I skid to a halt. All of the maze tests that the scientists in the Lab put me through when I was younger come back to me, and my eyes dart around wildly. In a split second, I find another route and yell, "Follow me!"

I dart around the crashed cars and duck behind some pillars. Darcy and Ian follow me as I lead them behind a building. Above me, I see a flash of a red cape and stop.

"What?!" Darcy exclaims, crashing into me, "Why are we stopping?"

I shove the science sticks into her arms and explain, "You guys keep running. I'm going to go help Thor with Malekith."

Darcy doesn't look happy about this, but doesn't object and nods, "Okay." Ian, however, frowns at me, "How can _you _help? You're just a kid."

I blink in surprise. Oh yeah. He still doesn't know I'm a mutant. Well, you know what? He already knows too much, so why not?

Taking a step back, I let myself morph into my wolf form. Since I grew a lot, I now tower over them. Ian's eyes widen and his jaw drops in a gasp. Darcy laughs at his expression and grins at me.

"Damn, you grew, Zoey!" she exclaims, and then smirks, "Now, go kick some elf butt!"

I wag my tail and whirl around, charging through the city towards where Malekith is strutting off his ship.

**Zoey can't keep a secret from Madison, can she? Plus, Ian now knows about Zoey's mutantness. Finally. Anywho, I just saw the Imitation Game. Ahh... Benedict Cumberbatch. So wonderfully British. **

**Review please!**

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


	14. Chapter 14

**Sooooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyy! I forgot to update yesterday! Oops! Well, here's the chapter! It's the second to last one, so... yeah**

**The title of this chapter is from Adele 'Skyfall'**

**I only own my characters**

Chapter Fourteen

When worlds collide and days are dark

The thing about growing up is that you're able to do more things. Now, I don't mean drugs, or getting a job, or having kids. I'm talking about physical stuff. You may have only been able to run two laps around your house when you were 10, but when you're 20, you find that you can run so many more. Your legs grow, becoming stronger and faster than ever before, along with the rest of your body.

Now, I'm a teenager, so I'm still growing. But, boy, if I keep growing like this, I'm going to be SHIELD's favorite lapdog.

Right now, I'm barging through the city of Greenwich, running faster than I've ever gone before. My long, lean legs carry me through the streets, weaving and dodging people without me having to think about it. When I see a building come up in front of me, I instinctively try to jump onto it.

And guess what?

_I land on the roof!_

My strong hind legs launch me into the air, making me go higher than I've ever gone before. I yelp, feeling like... like Superwolf. Then, my forepaws stretch out and I land perfectly on the roof.

My eyes widen in surprise and I glance over my shoulder. Geez, I must've jumped 18 feet high!

Praise to puberty!

Crouching down, I stalk towards the edge of the building. Thor and Malekith are walking slowly towards each other. I notice the small army of elves behind him, wielding guns, swords, and maces.

"You needn't have come so far, Asgardian." Malekith says, his voice deep and full. He would be a really great narrator. Ya know, if he wasn't an evil elf. "Death would've come to you soon enough."

Thor huffs and says, "Not by your hand."

"Your universe was never meant to be." Malekith growls, walking faster, "Your world and your family will be extinguished!" All of the sudden, he unleashes the Aether and hits Thor with it. The Wolf snarls inside my head and my blood fizzes. My claws flex and my muscles clench, wanting to attack something.

But I restrain myself and watch as Thor tries to defend himself with lightning but still falls onto his back. He stumbles to his feet, but is hit once again with the Aether, throwing him back further.

_Why aren't you helping? _The Wolf asks in my head, _He's your Packmate. Or so you say._

_I'm waiting for the right moment to strike, _I reply, _I can't go against Malekith head-on. He has the Aether. He's too powerful._

The Wolf scoffs and shakes its imaginary head, _No, he's not. You are stronger. You haven't even battled with him yet- how do you know that Aether will hurt you? How can it, when it makes you feel so powerful?_

I blink in surprise. The Wolf actually has a point. I _do _feel more powerful when the Aether is around. I feel my inner wolf trying to burst out and attack. My blood fizzes and adrenaline flows through my veins.

As Malekith prepares to attack Thor for the fourth time, the Aether swirling around him, I make my decision. In a split second, I'm on the ground and charging towards him at full speed.

He barely has time to glance at me before I ram my head into his side, sending him flying backwards. He crashes into elves, breaks a column of a building, and smacks into two cars before finally stopping. I yelp in excitement and spin around in a circle. Man, what a rush!

My head prickles where the Aether burned me, but it only fuels my thirst for battle. I glance over my shoulder and see Thor looking surprised. Then, he nods and flies over to Malekith.

The rest of Malekith's elves stare at me for a moment before advancing. I let out a battle-howl and then tackle one to the ground. It grunts under my weight, but I leap off of it and swipe at another. The elf soars backwards and crashes into a car.

One elf lashes out with its sword at me, but I dodge and whirl around, kicking it with my hind legs. Another leaps onto my back, and then I realize just how outnumbered I am.

As I buck and shake, trying to get it off of me, a Dark Elf shoots its gun at me. I yelp, more from shock than pain, and mentally thank the gods for my thick mane that blocked most of the shot. Snarling, I roll over like a dog, crushing the elf on my back as well as the one that shot me.

"Zoey!" I glance over my shoulder to see Darcy and Ian pressed up against a wall, slightly out of sight. Darcy waves for me to come and yells, "Jane has a plan! Get out of there!"

Suddenly, I feel a sharp pain on my leg and whirl around. One of the Dark Elves just scratched me with his sword. I growl, but then turn around and run towards Darcy and Ian. Ducking behind the wall, I watch as Darcy says, "She's here." and then a large group of elves randomly disappear.

"That is awesome!" Darcy exclaims, talking into her phone, "How did you do that?"

I hear Jane's voice on the other end, and then notice one of those science poles sticking out of the ground. Ohh, so that's what they do!

"Get the bastard with the sword." I growl, even though they can't understand me. The cut on my leg is throbbing, but it's not deep enough for me to be in agonizing pain. My legs don't have as much fur as my upper body does, so that's why the sword was able to penetrate my pelt.

Ian stares at me in amazement, and a little bit of fear, but says nothing. Darcy isn't paying attention to us, and instead says to Jane excitedly, "Oh! Get the guy with the sword!"

I huff, pleased, "Thank you."

All of the sudden, my pelt prickles as a portal approaches us and before I know it, Darcy, Ian, and I are in a street next to a bunch of cars. I blink in confusion and look around.

"Um…" Darcy asks, "What the hell just happened?"

I sense another portal come and yelp in surprise as a bunch of elves are dropped onto a car. Ian lets out a scream that would make a little girl proud, but Darcy just grabs his hand and drags him away, "Move!"

As the Dark Elves recover, I rear up on my hind legs and slam my paws into one. It falls backwards, and another one shoots his gun at me. I duck, but the blast still singes the fur on my shoulders. Snarling, I lunge at it, my jaws snapping. His gun flies in the air and I bite his arm, lifting him into the air. I shake him like a squirrel, and then fling him aside.

The other elves have gone after Darcy and Ian.

I'm about to chase after them, but suddenly an electrical shock wave passes through the area and shatters windows around me. I grit my teeth and look up. Thor and Malekith appear in a portal from the sky and fall. I wait for the sound of their impact on the ground, but there is none. Huh, they must've fallen into another portal.

Above me, Mjolnir flies past. I sigh. Poor, lost, little hammer. How is it not crashing into buildings?

My sensitive ears pick up the sound of yelling and I look up. Thor and Malekith are now sliding down the side of a curved, tall tower. I watch as they fall, and then enter another portal. Mjolnir, which was flying towards them, shoots upwards and shatters the windows with the momentum. I frown. Thor and Malekith seem to be doing more falling than fighting.

Giving myself a shake, I start tracking down Darcy and Ian. I've only gone a few feet when Madison's panicked voice enters my head, _Zoey, Zoey, Zoey! We've got a situation! _

_No, really? _I reply sarcastically, watching as two human fighter jets are sucked into a portal.

_This is serious! _she snaps, _A bunch of elves are chasing me, Jane, and Erik!_

I instantly become serious and say, _Don't worry, I'll be right there! _I take off towards the tower, running at full speed. Nobody hurts my sister!

As I get closer to the tower, I spot Jane, Erik, and Madison running through an outdoor hallway with columns on one side. Like Madison said, Dark Elves are chasing them. I let out a snarl and pour on speed.

Darting in between the columns, I ram my head into an unsuspecting elf. He crashes into the opposite wall and I whirl around, lashing out at another elf. Grabbing one in my jaws, I toss him into the air and slam my paws on him, making him crash into a bunch of his battlemates.

"Zoey!" I hear Madison call my name and turn around. Elves are rushing at them from the other side. Growling, I leap over my friends and snarl fiercely at the elves. One slips and scrambles away from me. I grin wickedly and grab his foot, flinging him so he smashes into his friends. However, they quickly recover and close in.

Soon, we're all surrounded.

Aww, man, I can't take on all of them! The Wolf lets out a wary whine in my head and I do so in reality.

Suddenly, Malekith's voice rings out throughout the hallway. He's speaking Elvish, but whatever he says makes the elves around us pause. I frown in confusion. Malekith and Thor are fighting, so how can he be-?

Before I can think anything else, Jane clicks a button on her device and the elves disappear. Darcy and Ian appear in front of us, making out. I grimace. Gross.

"Darcy?" Jane raises an eyebrow. Darcy pulls away from Ian, dropping him on the floor, "Jane!"

"Ian!" Erik exclaims. The intern sits up, grinning, "Selvig!"

I hear a whooshing sound overhead as Mjolnir flies by. Darcy points at it and exclaims, "Mew mew!"

Jane looks around, eyes wide, "Where's Malekith? I just heard him!"

"That was me." Madison says, to my surprise. We all stare at her as she explains, "I learn faster than normal, remember? I heard the elves speaking elvish earlier, and then I mimicked Malekith's voice and threw it."

"Threw it?" Erik echoes. Madison nods, "I made it sound like it was coming from somewhere else."

Darcy raises an eyebrow, "You can do that?"

Madison nods again and smiles, "Apparently. I actually didn't know I could do that before now."

We all stare at her silently. I'm impressed; she's more powerful than I thought. I faintly remember that she was born with her powers, unlike me. Could this be a new thing for her?

After a few moments, I take a step back awkwardly and bark, "Uh, I'm going to go help Thor." Turning around, I dart back towards Malekith's ship.

The king Dark Elf is stalking towards his ship, wind swirling around him. Above the ship, nine multicolored portals hover, slowly moving into alignment. The Convergence is almost here.

As I run closer, Malekith tilts his head back up to the sky and raises his arms. The Aether bursts out of him, surging upwards towards the portals. I skid to a halt, my eyes wide. The evil red stuff swirls around Malekith's ship and branches off, entering the Nine Realms.

I can't believe it! We're out of time!

Behind me, I hear gravel shifting and turn to see Jane running towards me. Erik is behind her, carrying three beeping science sticks.

"Zoey!" Jane gasps, stopping beside me. Just then, Thor comes running up to us and she exclaims, "Thor!"

As the Asgardian stops next to her, she looks up at the Aether and mutters, "We're too late." I feel my heart clench and a growl rumbles in my throat. So much exposed Aether is making me crazy, but I stand my ground.

"The Convergence is at its peak." Erik says. Thor glances at him, and then at the science sticks, "Can those things stop him?

Erik shakes his head, "Not from here."

"We can't get close enough." Jane says, and then meets Thor's gaze. The God of Thunder nods, "I can." He takes the sticks from Erik and starts forward.

"Wait!" I bark, leaping after him. He turns and I crouch down, looking up at him expectantly, "Need a ride?"

Thor hesitates, and then climbs onto my back. I grunt under his weight, but stand up strong. Before I can even take a step, Madison calls out, "Zoey!" I turn to see her tearing away from Ian and Darcy, who were trying to stop her, and running towards me. She wraps her arms around my mane and hugs me tightly. I whine and nuzzle her before stepping away.

She backs up, tears rolling down her cheeks, and chokes out, "Don't leave me here, okay?" I nod and turn around. As I dash towards Malekith, who is surrounded by the Aether, she calls after me, "I love you!"

_I love you too._ I say those words in my head as I plunge into the mass of red. Immediately, my muscles start working harder, my claws flex, and my jaw clenches. I have to resist the urge to just start killing everything.

The horrid scent of the Aether fills my nose and clouds my brain, making me grunt. Harsh winds crash into my side and tug at my fur, little grains of Aether getting clogged in my pelt. Still, I press on, continuing to plunge deeper and deeper into the mass.

Thor is clinging onto my mane hard and I feel the science sticks getting snagged in my thick fur. My wounded leg hurts a lot more now, especially with Thor's weight on my back and the grains of Aether getting in my exposed flesh. The whole trek feels like it lasts forever, and I don't realize that my eyes are closed until Thor shouts, "Malekith!"

Slowly, I squint my eyes open and see Malekith in the midst of the storm of red. His face is tilted upward and his arms are out, making him look like a ballet dancer. At the sound of Thor's voice he drops his arms and turns. His eyes linger on me for a moment, and then dart up to Thor.

"Darkness returns, Asgardian." he yells over the wind, "Have you come to witness the end of your universe?"

"I've come to accept your surrender." The Thunder God replies and I feel one of the science sticks being lifted off my back. With a grunt, Thor throws it at Malekith, who catches the stick easily.

I growl in frustration, and then let out a yelp of laughter as a portal suddenly takes his hand away. Malekith groans and I watch as the Aether swirls around his stumpy arm.

Thor throws another science stick and this time it hits his shoulder. A second later, Malekith's arm disappears and he screams in pain.

"You think you can stop this?" Malekith shouts through gritted teeth, "The Aether cannot be destroyed." The Aether begins to make up his hands and arm, which he raises to gesture to the storm of red.

To my surprise, I feel Thor slide off my back, taking the last stick with him. I glance at him as he says, "But you can." He raises an arm, and I hear the metallic sound of him summoning Mjolnir.

Then, he starts running towards Malekith. I dig my claws into the ground nervously as he raises the stick and yells. Leaping into the air, he catches an electrified Mjolnir mid-leap and then slams it onto the edge of the stick, hammering it into Malekith's chest.

The force, mixed with the Aether and Thor's lightning, throws us all back. I feel myself soaring backwards, and then land on the ground hard. I tumble head-over-tail for a few meters, and then slam into a car.

Darkness tries to edge into my consciousness. My mind feels groggy, and I have to fight the urge to go to sleep. I try to move and get up, but my whole body hurts and won't listen to me. I can still hear, though.

I hear the sound of Malekith screaming and metal tearing. Then, I hear footsteps running, but not towards me.

"Thor! Zoey!" Jane's voice shouts and in the background I hear metal groaning under stress.

"Zoey!" Madison cries and I hear her footsteps rushing towards me. Soon, her hand is in the fur of my mane, and I feel wet tears drip onto my muzzle. "Zoey!" she gasps, "Zoey, please wake up! _Please, _we have to run!"

This catches my attention. I frown, and then slowly squint my eyes open. Madison's teary face brightens up and she exclaims, "You're alive!" She stands and tries to pull me up, "Come on, come on- the ship's going to fall!"

Now I really notice the sound of grinding metal. I look up and see Malekith's ship growing bigger and bigger as it crumbles to the ground. Thor is laying close to it, with Jane trying to drag him away.

Erik is nearby and shouts, "Jane! Madison! Get out of there!"

"Zoey!" Madison turns to me, "Please, _please, _get up! Can you walk? Can you hear me?" I grimace, her voice sounding strangely loud to my sensitive ears. Groaning, I heave myself to my paws and stumble towards Thor. The ship is falling even faster now, so I painfully quicken my pace.

Behind me, I hear Ian approach Madison and try to pull her away, "Madison, you have to run! She's going to help- you have to run!"

"No!" Madison screams, "No! She couldn't- she's hurt, I have to-" I hear shuffling and scraping behind me, but ignore it and start trotting.

Everything aches, but I force myself to start running. My muscles scream in protest, and my run is more like a lumber than anything.

Jane looks up as I reach her side, "Zoey!"

Ignoring her, I grab Thor's cape in my jaws and start dragging him out of the way of the falling ship. Jane scrambles to her feet and starts helping me, much to Erik's dismay and he shouts, "Jane! Run!"

I start dragging Thor faster, but my legs are weak and my whole body is shaking with the effort. The ship is almost upon us, and I know I won't be able to drag Thor out of the way.

So, remorsefully, I drop his cape and step away. Turning to Jane, I ram my head into her chest and throw her back a few feet, just enough for Darcy to be able to reach her and pull her out of the way.

Whirling around, I leap on top of Thor and shield him with my body. Closing my eyes, I wait for the ship to crush us.

...

...Only, it doesn't.

I sense a portal, hear a sucking sound, and then there's silence. I blink my eyes open in confusion. Glancing up, I see that the ship has disappeared.

Erik, who is holding Jane's device, smiles and asks, "Everybody okay?"

Jane and Madison both rush towards me. I wearily heave myself off of Thor, and then flop down on the ground.

Jane crouches down beside her lover, while Madison hugs me tightly. She sobs into my mane and I let out a happy rumble in my throat. Then, I let my heavy head drop down on my paws, feeling sleep threatening to pull me in.

I notice that Thor is blinking awake, and Jane sighs with relief before resting her head on his chest. Madison suddenly kisses the side of my head, and then buries her face in my furry mane.

**One more chapter to go! Hope you guys liked this one! Review please! **

**-Periwinkle Skittles**


End file.
